Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu+Zijia

In the week ending April 11， China export box transport market kept stable overall. Transport demand in many services like Mediterranean， North America， and Persian Gulf/Red Sea inched up， which followed by freight rate in some services rising， and the comprehensive index corrected. On April 11， China （Containerized） Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quoted 1068.05 points， and Shanghai （Containerized） Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE quoted 1067.42 points， both almost unchanged from last week.

In the Europe service， the economy is recovering in the Euro Zone core countries， which spurs residents consumer confidence and transport demand since April， where the average slot utilization rate kept at around 90%-95%， with some even full loaded. Box carriers further reduced freight rate in the range from USD50 per TEU to USD100 per TEU， some even declined to USD1000 per TEU. On April 11， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Europe service （including seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1156 per TEU， down by 6.9 percent week on week. In the Mediterranean service， despite cargo volume was as good as that in the Europe service， demand/supply condition was not improved. In terms of region， in the West Coast of Mediterranean service， the average slot utilization rate sustained at around 90 percent， and spot rate slipped， with some even at around USD1100 per TEU. In the East Coast of the Mediterranean service， transport demand was improved overall， but cargo volume was weak to increase in the Black Sea service. On April 11， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Mediterranean service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1263 per TEU， falling by 6.2 percent week on week.

In the North America service， U.S. economy appeared on stable recovery condition recently， and non-farm employment in the U.S. had a good performance， which boosted transport demand. Demand/supply condition was improved， and the average slot utilization rate in the USWC service inched up to be around 95 percent， with some even full loaded. In the USEC service， the average slot utilization rate kept at above 90 percent. On April 11， the freight rate in the USWC and USEC services （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1872 per FEU and USD3281 per FEU， up by 3.5 percent and 0.6 percent against one week ago respectively.

In the Persian Gulf/Red Sea service， part of box liners stiffened capacity limit measures further， and the average slot utilization rate climbed up to be above 90 percent， with some even full-loaded， and some box carriers hiked freight rate largely. In the services heading for Red Sea， the average slot utilization rate sustained at around 85%-90%. Freight rate in the spot rate rose up. On April 11， the freight index in the China-Persian Gulf/Red Sea quoted 847.27 points， up by 6.8 percent week on week.

In the Australia service， cargo volume kept weak in the slack season， and the average slot utilization rate hovered at around 85 percent. On April 11， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia service （covering seaborne surcharges） tumbled by 7.4 percent comparing with that last week to USD760 per TEU， or slipping by 13.4 percent month on month.

In the Japan service， cargo volume was stable， and the average slot utilization rate kept at around 70 percent， with spot rate falling firmly. On April 11， the freight index in the China-Japan service quoted 824.98 points， down by 1.5 percent week on week.

（Please contact the Information Dept of SSE for more details.）endprint