Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu Zijia

In the week ending Dec.5， China export box market is declining overall. Part of ocean-going services sees transport demand shrink， which is affected by the slack season， with spot rate falling. On Dec.5， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quotes 1030.07 points， down by 1.6% from one week ago; while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE quotes 919.00 points， decreasing by 3.2% from last week.

In the Europe service， as the weak of Euro zone economy， the employment rate and consuming confidence are hit. As a result， container transport volume from China to Europe is hard to increase. Since that demand/supply condition does not improve evidently， the average slot utilization rate hovers between 85% and 90%. Most box liners extends freight rate increase plan to mid Dec.， resulting spot rate continuing to decline， some even below USD600 per TEU. On Dec.5， the freight index in the China-Europe service quote 1214.21 points， down by 4.0% against last week. In the Mediterranean service， affected by the worsened economy in the South European countries， box carriers further to reduce freight rate in order to attract more cargo volume， with some even around USD750/TEU; in the East coast of Mediterranean service， the average slot utilization rate keeps at around 80%， with some even below USD900 per TEU. On Dec.5， freight index in the China-Mediterranean service quote 1357.37 points， falling by 2.8% from last week.

In the North America service， benefited from the upward economy， transport demand goes north. In the USWC service， as port labor strike goes worse， part of domestic cargo owners begin to slow shipment space， causing transport demand declining slightly， and the average slot utilization rate hovering at above 90%. In the USEC service， thanks to the recovering U.S. economy， and some cargo volume transiting from USWC service， the average slot utilization rate bounding to be above 95%， with some even full loaded. Supported by the positive demand/supply condition， spot rate keeps stable. On Dec.5， freight indices in the services from China to USWC and USEC services quote 985.56 points and 1335.06 points， down by 0.5% and 0.2% from last week.

In the Persian Gulf service， benefited by the strengthened capacity limit measures， demand/supply condition improves， with the average slot utilization rate rebounding to be 90% above， some even approaching 95%. However， owing to the weak condition during the traditional slack season， ?most box liners reduce freight rate more strongly. On Dec.5， freight rate in the Shanghai-Persian Gulf service （covering seaborne surcharges） quote USD853 per TEU， diving by 5.8% comparing with that last week.

Cargo volume keeps falling in the Australia service， where demand/supply condition does not improve. The average slot utilization rate in this service stands at 85% about， with spot rate diving， and the lowest approaching USD550 per TEU. On Dec.5， freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia service （covering seaborne surcharges） quote USD685 per TEU， falling by 8.3% against last week.

Cargo volume keeps stable in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate hovers at around 65%， with spot rate tumbling slightly. On Dec.5， freight index in the China-Japan service falls by 1.1% from one week ago to 616.90 points.

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