News
The composite Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) stood at 4,196 points in Week 16, hitting the lowest level in the last nine months, as congestion persisted at the Port of Shanghai due to a prolonged lockdown in the city of Shanghai.
On the trade route to North America, transport demand was steadier than others. Spot rates for container exports from the Chinese port to the east coast, as such, only declined by a minute $4 from the previous week to $10,642 per FEU, which remained on the decline for two back-to-back weeks. Rates for those to the west coast, meanwhile, stayed flat at $7,860 per FEU.
Containers to Europe were moved at $6,016 per TEU, down 1.2%, continuing to fall for the 13th week in a row, while those to the Mediterranean were carried at $6,690 per TEU, down 0.7%.
On north-south trades, spot rates improved 0.6% to $6,564 per TEU for exports to South America, coming back for the first time in a while. On the other hand, rates were not as bullish for those to other destinations. For example, they sank 1.7% to $2,428 per TEU for those to the Middle East Gulf and 2.6% to $6,564 per TEU for those to Australia and New Zealand.
In intra-Asia waters, demand went down for shipments bound for Southeast Asia owing to lockdowns in Chinese cities. Spot rates for those to the region, therefore, sank 1.9% to $1,015 per TEU, remaining on a downward trend for 14 straight weeks. Rates, in contrast, levelled off for exports to Japan—at $346 per TEU for those to Kansai and $334 per TEU for those to Kanto.
