News
Container exports from China were mostly stable last week although there was an imbalance from one route to another, according to a weekly report released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE). The composite Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) picked up 1.6% from the previous week to 3,409.63 points, remaining on an upward trend for four consecutive weeks.
Spot rates for container exports from Shanghai were down 3.5% to $3,842 per TEU and down 4.1% to $3,767 per TEU to the Mediterranean. In contrast, they were up 0.8% to $6,767 per FEU to the west coast of North America, up 1.4% to $9,700 per TEU to the east coast of North America, up 2.1% to $5,729 per TEU to the Middle East Gulf, up 2.1% to $2,313 per TEU to Australia and New Zealand, and up 9.6% to $7,805 per TEU to South America.
Despite stable container movement, the composite China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) fell 1.4% to 1,821.65 points, a decrease for two back-to-back weeks.
On the east-west trades, the individual CCFIs were down 5.1% to 2,270.18 points to Europe, down 2.5% to 2,883.78 points to the Mediterranean, down 0.2% to 1,541.49 points to the west coast of North America, and down 0.5% to 1,803.23 points to the east coast of North America.
On the north-south routes, the CCFIs were down 3.9% to 1,453.73 points to Southern Africa, down 1% to 1,172.16 points to East and West Africa, up 2.8% to 3,319.06 points to the Middle East Gulf and the Red Sea, up 2.8% to 1,651.73 points Australia and New Zealand, and up 4.1% to 1,358.77 points to South America.
Within Asia, the CCFIs were up 4.4% to 936.35 points to Japan but down 4.3% to 972.46 points to Southeast Asia and down 3.2% to 599.22 points to South Korea.
The CCFI is an indicator for freight rates for container exports from China that are transported on medium- and long-term contracts, which was set at a baseline of 1,000 points on Jan. 1, 1998. The SCFI represents spot rates for those from Shanghai that do not include terminal handling charges (THCs), which was set at the same points on Oct. 16, 2009.
