News
Freight rates for container exports from China remained bearish on major trades on Week 36. The composite Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), an indicator for spot rates for outbound containers from Shanghai that do not include terminal handling charges (THCs), plunged 10.03% from the previous week to 2,562.12 points and have stayed on the decline for 13 straight weeks, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE).
On the route to North America, transport demand continued to dip at a time when additional interest rate hikes are likely this month in the U.S. and Canada. Spot rates for container exports to the west coast plummeted 12% to $3,484 per FEU, having remained on a downward trend for 17 weeks in a row. The market is now drawing attention from those who fear they will go all the way down to $2,000 per FEU. Meanwhile, spot rates fell 6.6% to %7,765 per FEU for shipments destined to the east coast, which have continued to decline for the 16th consecutive week.
On the trade to Europe, spot rates sank 8.8% to $3,877 per TEU, which have trended down for 15 weeks running. Rates were weak on the route to the Mediterranean, too, sliding 11.6% to $4,222 per TEU.
Spot rates were sluggish across the board on north-south routes, going down a notable 16.2% to $1,481 per TEU for containers to the Middle East Gulf, 6.6% to $2,489 per TEU for those to Australia and New Zealand and 10% to $7,183 per TEU for those to South America.
In intra-Asia waters, exports to Japan's Kanto region were the only route to enjoy an increase in spot rates, which improved 3.2% to $315 per TEU. In contrast, rates fell 0.6% to $325 per TEU for those to Kansai. On the route to Southeast Asia, spot rates took a steep dive of 17.6% to $463 per TEU, as there was no last-minute lash of shipments before China's National Day this year, and have declined for nine weeks in a row. Spot rates dipped for those to South Korea as well, going down 0.2% to $253 per TEU.
