Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Zhu+Pengzhou

In the week ending Aug.26， China export box transport market saw transport demand arise stably， with freight rate in some routes unchanged. On Aug.26， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quoted 705.21 points， down by 0.9% against one week ago； while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE quoted 596.38 points， almost in line with one week ago.

Transport demand grew firmly in the Europe route， where the average slot utilization rate was almost full-loaded. On Aug.26， freight rate in the Shanghai-Europe route （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD695/TEU， up by 0.6% against one week ago. In the Mediterranean route， cargo volume performed unsatisfactory， some box liner carried out capacity limit measures， but the average slot utilization rate was around 80%. On Aug.26， freight rate in the Shanghai-Mediterranean route （covering seaborne surcharges） had a week-on-week decrease of 6.9% to USD553/TEU.

In the North America route， owing to the good performance of economy， transport demand had a stable growth. The average slot utilization rates in the USWC and USEC sustained above 95%， with spot rate tending to be stable. On Aug.26， freight rate in the services from Shanghai to USWC and USEC （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1153/FEU and USD1684/FEU， almost in line with that one week ago.

In the Persian Gulf route， main economy in the destination had a slot increase， which dragged down transport demand from improving. Demand/supply condition unimproved ， and the average slot utilization rate rounded to be 85%. Part of box liners began to push freight rate increase plan in order to freight rate， but most preferred to remain the freight rate， with spot rate arising slightly. On Aug.26， freight rate in the Shanghai-Persian Gulf route （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD247/TEU， up by 7.4% against one week ago.

Cargo volume has no remarkable growth in the Australia route，， where the average slot utilization rate slipped to above 90%. Owing to the market condition was unsatisfactory， part of box liners hold stand-by attitude on the freight rate increase in September， and spot rate rose slightly. On Aug.26， freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia route （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD361/TEU，increasing by 7.1% from one week ago.

Transport demand and demand/supply condition kept stable overall in the South America route， where the average slot utilization rate stood around 90%. Spot rate stood at relatively higher level after increasing in the second quarter， therefore， most box liners tended to get more market share， with spot rate in correction. On Aug.26， freight rate in the Shanghai-South America route （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD2711/TEU， down by 4.3% from one week ago.

Cargo volume kept stable in the Japan route， where spot rate was stable. On Aug.26， freight index in the China-Japan route quoted 646.52 points， almost in line with that last week.

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