News
The market for container exports from China went down in Week 18, impacted by a lockdown in Shanghai and subsequent sluggish transport demand. The composite Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), an index for spot rates for containers from the Chinese port that do not include terminal handling charges (THCs), slid 0.3% from the previous week, remaining on the decline for the 16th week in a row. Looking at fluctuations on individual routes, spot rates improved on those to the Kanto regions in Japan and Australia/New Zealand and levelled off on those to the west coast of North America and Japan’s Kansai region. But they sagged extensively on the others.
Spot rates for container exports from Shanghai fell 0.4% to $10,588 per FEU on the route to the east coast of North America, remaining bearish for three consecutive weeks, while rates stayed flat at $7,888 per FEU on that to the west coast. Containers destined to Europe were moved at $5,955 per TEU, down 0.5%, which stayed on a downward trend for 15 weeks running. Those to the Mediterranean, meanwhile, were transported at $6,091 per TEU, which increased a minute 0.3%. On north-south trades, spot rates continued to sink for shipments bound for South America, going down 3.2% to $6,284 per TEU. On the trade to the Middle East Gulf, supply and demand were imbalanced, leading to rate falls. With Ramadan coming to an end in early May, however, transport demand is now expected to grow again. As such, spot rates for exports to the region only declined a slight 1.8% to $2,344 per TEU. For exports to Australia and New Zealand, rates hiked 0.3% to $3,332 per TEU. In intra-Asia waters, spot rates dipped 0.8% to $996 per TEU on the Southeast Asia route, as demand was weak due to the lockdown in Shanghai. On the trade to Japan, rates remained unchanged at $346 per TEU for exports to Kansai but increased a notable 5.7% to $354 per TEU for those to Kanto.
