News
Freight rates for exporting containers from China declined on many trade routes last week, as pre-Christmas shipments had reached a peak, and consequently, transport demand had begun weakening. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) declined 1.5% from the previous week to 890.41 points on Nov. 30, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE).
The spot rate for containers from Shanghai to Europe was $747 per TEU, growing 1.2%. On the Mediterranean trade, the average load factor of container freighters from Shanghai was over 90%, as high as the average on the Europe route. As such, the freight rate increased mildly, going up 3.7% to $783 per TEU.
On the route to and from North America, economic fundamentals were not stable in the U.S. As a consequence, growth in consumption and transport demand both slowed down, easing the balance between supply and demand. The spot rates were $2,190 per FEU for shipments to the west coast and $3,403 per FEU to the east coast, down 2.5% and 6.8%, respectively.
One the route between China and Japan, container movement was favorable. Nevertheless, the spot rates only grew minutely for shipments to both Kansai and Kanto, sliding by 0.9% to $226 per TEU and by 0.4% to $227 per TEUs, respectively.
