News
The composite Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) stood at 1,247.5 points in Week 13, which picked up 3.3% from the previous week, the first improvement in six weeks, according to the Ningbo Shipping Exchange (NBSE).
The individual NCFIs, which apply to 21 trade lanes from Ningbo-Zhoushan, increased on 17 and decreased on four. On the routes to the 16 major ports on the so-called Maritime Silk Road, the NCFIs went up on those to 12 ports and down on those to four.
More specifically, the NCFIs rose 0.2% to 1,323.2 points to Europe, 10.2% to 1,499.8 points to the Eastern Mediterranean and 9.9% to 1,806.3 points to the Western Mediterranean. On the route to Europe, there was no major change in supply and demand, helping spot rates remain stable. On the route to the Mediterranean, in contrast, operators reduced capacity to hike rates, which made spot rates increase as well.
The NCFIs, on the other hand, plunged 11.7% to 1,368.5 points to the east coast of North America and 8% to 1,848.4 points to the east coast. On the trade lane to North America, supply remained greater than demand as new capacity was added, exercising downward pressure on spot rates.
The NCFI surged 28.6% to 1,503.1 points on the route to the Middle East. As the end of Ramadan approached, market demand increased rapidly, tightening capacity and encouraging shipping lines to impose major freight rate hikes.
On the trade to the west coast of South America, the NCFI jumped 36.8% to 967.4 points. Transport demand recovered, making load factors continue to grow. Some of the ships from Ningbo-Zhoushan were fully loaded, making spot rates come back from extremely low levels.
