News
Freight rates for container exports from China remained low across the board in Week 12. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), an indicator for spot rates for container exports from Shanghai that do not include terminal handling charges (THCs), fell 0.2% from the previous week to 908.65 points, which was the first decline in two weeks, although ex-Shanghai spot rates rebounded on the routes to the Australia and New Zealand, South America and the Middle East Gulf.
On east-west trade lanes, spot rates for shipments from Shanghai increased a minute 0.7% to $884 per TEU to Europe but slid 2.7% to $1,606 per TEU to the Mediterranean. To the west coast of North America, spot rates waned 0.5% to $1,150 per FEU, and to the east coast, 2.5% to $2,038 per FEU.
On north-south routes, spot rates for exports from Shanghai hiked a notable 16.9% to $324 per TEU to Australia and New Zealand, 8.9% to $1,422 per TEU to South America and 1.7% to $894 per TEU to the Middle East Gulf. In contrast, rates continued to decline for shipments to Africa.
