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Freight rates for container exports from China stayed on the decline in Week 9, although shipping capacity adjustments continued to keep pace with a decrease in demand. The indices for container exports from Shanghai that do not include terminal handling charges (THC) went down on most routes, despite some improvements on those to Japan's Kansai and Southeast Asia. The composite Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) plunged 21.6% from the previous week to 931.08 points, which has remained on a downward trend for eight weeks in a row.
Spot rates for containers from Shanghai fell 1.9% to $865 per TEU on the route to Europe, which have continued to drop for eight straight weeks, while rates slid 0.3% to $1,600 per TEU on that to the Mediterranean. Rates for containers to the west coast of North America dropped 2.8% to $1,200 per FEU, which have trended down for five consecutive weeks. Those for containers to the east coast fell 3% to $2,321 per FEU, which have stayed on a weakening track for 39 straight weeks.
On north-south trades, spot rates declined 6.2% to $962 per TEU to the Middle East Gulf, which have continued to wane for the fourth consecutive week and fallen below the $1,000-per-FEU line for the first time since September 2022. Rates went down 3.5% to $334 per TEU to Australia and New Zealand, which have stayed below the $1,000-per-TEU line since October 2022. Spot rates fell 1.7% to $1,482 per TEU to South America but have been higher than pre-pandemic levels, fluctuating between $1,400 per TEU and $1,500 per TEU since the beginning of the year. Rates were bearish for containers to Africa.
In intra-Asia waters, spot rates improved 0.6% to $328 per TEU for exports to Japan's Kansai region and a more notable 5% to $177 per TEU for those to Southeast Asia. In contrast, rates sank 2.4% to $328 per TEU for containers to Kanto and 2.9% to $202 per TEU for those to South Korea.
