Weekly Commentary on China ontainerized Transportation

Liu Zijia

In the week ending June 6， China export container market was stable overall， but affected by the increasing supply of capacity， most services saw freight rate decline， except for the Mediterranean service. On June 6， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quoted 1109.03 points， almost unchanged from last week； while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by SSE quoted 1088.41 points， down by 1.8 percent last week.

In the Europe service， cargo volume was stable， the average slot utilization rate in this service declined， with some even around 90 percent. The average spot rate this week only increased by USD28 per TEU. On June 6， the freight index in the China-Europe service quoted 1451.85 points， up by 1.3 percent from last week. In the Mediterranean service， the market developed in different trends between East coast and West coast. Cargo volume increased firmly in the West coast of this service， where the average slot utilization rate kept above 95 percent and spot rate increased by USD150 per TEU in average. In the East coast， freight rate in most services stopped increasing， with some even decreasing by USD50 per TEU. On June 6， the freight index in the China-Mediterranean service quoted 1700.68 points， up by 2.2 percent from last week.

In the North America service， transport demand was stable. In the USWC service， as strike would happen in the South region in the second half of June， cargo owners made shipment slowly. Therefore， although part of cargo volume moved to the North region， transport demand this week shrank somehow， and the average slot utilization rate kept at above 90 percent， with spot rate slipping. In the USEC service， transport demand rose firmly. On June 6， the freight rate in the services from Shanghai to USWC and USEC services （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD 1802 per FEU and USD3286 per FEU， down by 3.4 percent and 1.4 percent from last week respectively. It is said that as the approach of traditional shipment peak season， box carriers plan to hike spot rate by USD400 per FEU since from June 15.

In the Persian Gulf service， as the end of shipment rush before Ramadan， cargo volume declining fast， and the oversupply of capacity emerged again， with the average slot utilization rate falling to around 85 percent. Spot rate dived， with freight rate in many services decreasing by around USD200 per TEU， and some even decreasing by nearly USD35O per TEU. On June 6， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Persian Gulf service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD950 per TEU， dropping by 18.0 percent against last week.

South America service saw transport demand kept flat in the East Coast market， and supply of capacity was not controlled evidently， leading to the average slot utilization rate around 85 percent. For the lack of support from market， box carriers failed to hike rate in early June， and spot rate dropped， with the lowest even at around USD450 per TEU. In the West coast of this service， market had a good performance， where the average slot utilization rate hovered between 90 percent and 95 percent， which was benefited by the stiff measure on controlling capacity. On June 6， the freight index in the China-South America service quoted 700.98 points， falling by 0.6 percent against last week.

Cargo volume decreased in Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate kept at around 60 percent， with spot rate falling firmly. On June 6， the freight index in China-Japan service quoted 668.14 points.

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

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17/6/2014

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