Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu+Zijia

In the week ending May 23， China export box market was stable overall. Booking rate in some services declined and the comprehensive index was in consolidation. On May 23， the China （Export） Containerized Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） was quoted 1097.18 points， almost in line with that last week； while the Shanghai （Export） Containerized Index （SCFI） issued by SSE quoted 1115.36 points， down by 4.0 percent against last week.

In the Europe service， big vessel delivery peak season is approaching， box liners are expanding capacity gradually. The average slot utilization rate in this service kept at above 90 percent. Most box liners further reduced spot booking rate， with the lowest at around USD1000 per TEU. On May 23， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Europe service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1188 per TEU， down by 7.7 percent from last week. Transport demand increased stably in the Mediterranean service. The average slot utilization rate kept above 95 percent， with some even full-loaded， and some box liners even added ships overtime to meet the increasing demand. Some box liners reduced freight rate by USD50 per TEU in average to attract more cargo volume，. On May 23， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Mediterranean service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted around USD1508 per TEU， down by 3.5 percent week on week.

The transport demand was stable in the North America service， but as box liners expanded vessel spaces， the oversupply of capacity was remarkable， leading spot rate declining slightly. In terms of different regions， capacity was added on a relatively smaller extent， where the average slot utilization rate kept at around 95 percent， and the average slot utilization rate in the USWC and USEC service quoted above USD1900 per FEU and USD3300 per FEU. In the South China region， the additional capacity made the supply/demand condition unbalanced， and the spot rate in the USWC service fell to be around USD1750 per FEU， but capacity in the USEC service had no remarkable expansion， where spot rate declined slightly to be around USD3300-USD3400 per FEU. On May 23， the freight index in the services from China to USWC and USEC services quoted 968.95 points and 1224.00 points， down by 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent against last week respectively. In the Australia service， cargo volume was flat in the slack season. Supply/demand condition failed to be changed， and the average slot utilization rate hovered at around 80 percent， with spot rate falling. On May 23， the freight index in the China-Australia service quoted 830.63 points， decreasing by 2.8 percent from last week.endprint

In the South America service， the average slot utilization rate in this service kept around 80 percent. Spot rate declined further， with the lowest even at around USD450 per TEU. On the West coast of this service， transport demand was stable relatively， and the average slot utilization rate in the West Coast of South America service kept at around 90 percent， with spot rate hovering between USD1700per TEU and USD1800 per TEU. On May 23， the freight rate in the Shanghai-South America service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD641 per TEU， down by 0.9 percent from last week. In the Japan service， cargo volume fell slightly and the average slot utilization rate kept at around 60 percent， with spot rate declining firmly. On May 23， the freight index in the China-Japan service quoted 706.13 points， down by 0.8 percent week on week.

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

SHIPPING EXCHANGE

BULLETIN

TOTAL EDITION： 885

3/6/2014

CONTENT FOR THIS WEEK

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to Riskendprint