Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Zhu+Pengzhou

In the week ending Dec.27， demand in China export container market trapped on weak condition in general， but slot supply was shortened， boosted by the increasing shipment ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year， with spot rate correcting recently. On Dec.27， China Containerized （Export） Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quoted 1084.44 points， up by 1.7 percent week on week， while Shanghai Containerized （Export） Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE quoted 1113.73 points， almost unchanged from last week.

In the Europe service， shipment demand increased evidently prior to the Lunar New Year， and slot supply was shortened. Box liners restarted the services that were ceased before， with capacity rising， but most routes in this service were almost full-loaded. Spot booking rate stopped declining. On Dec.27， the freight rate in the services from Shanghai to Europe and Mediterranean （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1511 per TEU and USD1570 per TEU， down by 1.0 percent and 1.9 percent from one week ago respectively. It was reported that， according to present market condition， some box liners intended to carry out another round of rate increase plan in early Jan.， rising by USD300 per TEU.

In the North America service， the average slot utilization rate reached above 90 percent， with some even full-loaded this week. Backed by the relatively high loading rate， the rate sustained at the relatively high level from last week. On Dec.27， the freight indices in the USWC and USEC services quoted 975.84 points and 1187.79 points， rising by 0.6 percent and 1.3 percent against last week respectively.

In the Australia service， the market began to recover this week， and demand/supply condition of capacity was retrieved， with the average slot utilization rate rebounding to be around 90 percent. The market was stable in a short term， and the spot rate was firmed basically. On Dec.27， the freight index in the China-Australia service quoted 950.27 points， almost unchanged from last week.

In the South America service， the instability of emerging countries plagued the transport demand， but encouraged by the shipment rush ahead the Lunar New Year， the spot booking rate stopped declining in five consecutive weeks and began to be stable. On Dec.27， the freight rate in the Shanghai-South America service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1613 per TEU， almost unchanged from last week.

In the Persian Gulf service， demand was not good in the destination port， but the average slot utilization rate inched up to be above 85 percent， benefited by the collected shipment. The box carriers， who waited and saw last week， began to hike rate this week， which caused the increasing of spot rate. On Dec.27， the freight index in the China-Persian Gulf service quoted 874.05 points， up by 1.5 percent against one week ago.

In the Japan service， cargo volume tumbled this week， where the average slot utilization rate dropped to be below 70 percent， with spot rate keeping stable. On Dec.27， the freight rate in the China-Japan service quoted 792.33 points， almost in line with that of last week.

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