Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu Zijia

In the week ending Aug.22， China export container market declines firmly. Since transport demand is weak to increase in ocean-going services including European， Persian Gulf/Red Sea， South American， the oversupply of capacity performs more evident， with booking freight rate decreasing. On Aug.22， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quotes 1114.09 points， almost in line with that last week； while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE falls by 4.0% from last week to 1076.47 points.

In the Europe service， the core countries in the Euro zone see slower speed on their economy recovery way， which drugs down consumer confidence. The average slot utilization rate in this service keeps above 90%.In order to attract more cargo volume， box liners reduces rate， with the lowest below USD1000 per TEU. On Aug.22， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Europe service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD1106 per TEU， down by 7.7% from last week. As the end of traditional peak season， transport demand cools down in the West coast of Mediterranean service， where the average slot utilization rate in this service keeps between 90%-95%， and spot rate declines fast， with some even decreasing by more than USD200 per TEU； while in the East coast of Mediterranean service， transport demand is weak to increase， and so does spot rate. On Aug.22， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Mediterranean service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD1427 per TEU， decreasing by 6.4% from last week.

The transport demand in the North America service is boosted by the gradually recovery of U.S. economy. In the USWC service， the average slot utilization rate keeps at around 90%， and spot rate slips slightly. On Aug.22， the freight rate in the Shanghai-USWC service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD2044 per FEU， down by 3.1% against last week. In the USEC service， transport demand is growing， and spot rate stands on the relatively high level. On Aug.22， the freight rate in the Shanghai-USEC service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD4161 per FEU， down by 0.4% from last week.

Cargo volume has not increased in the Persian Gulf/Red Sea service. Although part of box liners control capacity by replacing big vessels with small vessels， the oversupply of capacity is not be changed， and the average slot utilization rate keeps around 85%. On Aug.22， the freight index in the China-Persian Gulf/Red Sea service quotes 1182.24 points， falling by 2.3% from last week.

Cargo volume performs flat in the Australia service， where the average slot utilization rate reaches about 90%， with spot rate declining. On Aug.22， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD656 per TEU， declining 5.2% from one week ago.

In the South America service， cargo volume keeps unchanged. The average slot utilization rate in the USWC service reaches to be 95% above， and spot rate is around USD2100 per TEU. In the USEC service， the oversupply of capacity is not reversed， where the average slot utilization rate is above 90%， and spot rate in many services decreases by USD200 per TEU. On Aug.22， the freight index in the China-South America service quotes 865.41 points， falling by 1.6% from last week.

Cargo volume bounces in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate rises to be above 65%， with spot rate stable. On Aug.22， the freight index in the China-Japan service quotes 603.61 points.

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