23.10.11NCFI Turns Upward in Week 40

Freight rates for container exports from the Chinese port of Ningbo-Zhoushan stopped declining in Week 40 due to a substantial decrease in shipping capacity during the National Day Golden Week from Oct. 1. The composite Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) stood at 593.8 points, up 0.8% from the previous week, according to the Ningbo Shipping Exchange (NBSE). On the 21 trade routes to which the individual NCFIs are applied, there were increases on 11 and decreases on the remaining 10. On routes to major ports on the so-called Maritime Silk Road, there were increases on those to 10 and decreases on those to six.

On the routes from Ningbo-Zhoushan to Europe and the Mediterranean, overall capacity was still greater than demand despite service suspensions. As such, spot rates continued to fall. The NCFIs went down 2.1% to 354.9 points to Europe, 2% to 558.4 points to the eastern Mediterranean and 0.5% to 650.9 points to the western Mediterranean.

On the route to North America, many services were suspended after the Golden Week, balancing supply and demand. Spot rates for container exports from Ningbo-Zhoushan fluctuated minutely. The NCFIs were down 0.3% to 778.8 points to the east coast and up 0.6% to 1,025.9 points to the west coast.