Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Xu+Qiao

In the week ending Feb.21， China export box market was on the post-holiday recovery period overall， leading to booking rate on the downward trend. On Feb.21， Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE）， reflecting the spot market， quoted 1036.86 points， falling by 5.3 percent from last week， while China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by SSE tumbled by 3.1 percent week on week to1133.98 points. Recently， the March rate increase plan has been listed on the agenda again， but box carriers are hesitant about the rate increase schedule and extent.

In the Europe service， plant workers returned to work， but transport demand was still flat. The average slot utilization rates in main services were below 80 percent， even some declining to about 60 percent. Because space was oversupplied seriously， booking freight rate on the spot market fell by 10 percent beyond （more than USD300 per TEU） for two consecutive weeks. On Feb. 21， the freight index in the China-Europe service dropped by 5.4 percent from one week ago to 1594.79 points. Recently， more than one box liners has announced to hike booking rate in this service since from early March， but considering the slot recovery speed of cargo volume， up to now， only four carriers have ensured the implementation schedule， to the extent of about USD 500 per TEU. The same story has happened in the Mediterranean service， where box liners mainly consumed stock because of insufficient transport demand， and the average slot utilization rate was below 80 percent， with spot freight rate slipping. On Feb.21， the freight index in the China-Mediterranean service quoted 1731.59 points， down by 3.6 percent week on week.

The shipping booking condition was not very good in the North America service， where the average slot utilization rate in the USWC service kept around 80 percent in the week ending Feb.21， while that in the USEC service performed better， around 85 per5cent. Most box carriers expressed that both freight rate and cargo volume declined on the present market. On Feb.21， the freight rates in the Shanghai-USWC and USEC services （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1945 /FEU and 3294 /FEU， down by 4.7 percent and 2.1percnet compared with last week respectively. It was said that TSA member companies would hike freight rate by USD300 per FEU since from March， 15.

In the Persian Gulf service， shipping space booking condition was also not very good， and carriers had to cut capacity largely. According to insiders， the capacity in the service leaving China for Persian Gulf in the week ending Feb.21 was cut by 22500TEU in general. For all this， the average slot utilization rate for some individual shipping company was still below 50 percent， and spot freight rate performed weak overall. On Feb. 21， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Persian Gulf service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD469 per TEU， falling by 5.3 percent from last week.

In the Australia/New Zealand service， AADA continued to limit capacity， and the average slot utilization rate kept at around 80 percent. On Feb.21， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia/New Zealand service （covering seaborne surcharges） declined by 7.5 percent from last week to USD692 per TEU.

The transport service got well from the holiday in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate sustained at around 65 percent， with spot rate falling. On Feb.21， the freight index in the China-Japan service quoted 804.62 points， dipping by 3.8 percent from one week ago.

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