News
The composite Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) fell 4.2% from the previous week to 659.4 points in Week 24 as spot rates for container exports to North America continued to decrease, according to the Ningbo Shipping Exchange (NBSE). On the 21 trade routes for which the individual NCFIs apply, there were increases on four and decreased on 17. On the routes to major ports along the Maritime Silk Road, the NCFIs went up on those to three ports and down on those to 13.
The trade route from Ningbo to Europe continued to see space oversupply, keeping spot rates on the decline, but they declined more mildly than previous weeks. The NCFIs were down 1% to 498.3 points to North Europe, 0.7% to 818.4 points to the eastern Mediterranean and 1.6% to 952 points to the western Mediterranean.
On the route to North America, demand is still smaller than capacity, urging many shipping lines to lower freight rates, which have led to slides in spot rates as well. The NCFIs fell 11.9% to 688.7 points and 14.6% to 668.9 points to the east and west coasts.
The NCFI, an indicator for ex-Ningbo container export rates, was set at 1,000 points in Week 10 of 2012.
