Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Zhu+Pengzhou

In the week ending March 21， China export box market was on the recovery period overall， where the oversupply of capacity depressed the spot market on the downward trend. On March 21， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quoted 1068.62 points， down by 0.6 percent week on week， while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE tumbled by 1.7percent from last week to 929.43 points.

In the Europe service， as the European economy was on the fragile recovery period， unemployment rate， GDP annual rate， consumer confidence index and other indexes hovered on the low level， with no evident improvement signal. Impacted by the negative general market， slow recovery speed of consumer demand dragged down transport demand in this region. In the week ending March 21， the average slot utilization rate in the Europe and Mediterranean services kept at around 80 percent， almost unchanged from last week. Excess ship space made spot rate decline. On March 21， the freight indices in the services from China to Europe and Mediterranean quoted 1439.96 and 1445.15 points， slipping by 0.9 percent and 3.2 percent respectively against one week ago.

In the North America service， U.S. economy had a stable recovery， where transport demand increased firmly， which attracted more box liners to release capacity. Since from last week， some box liners had hiked freight rate in the USWC service， but had to reduce it since the slip of loading rate. On March 21， the freight rate in the Shanghai-USWC service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1865 per FEU， declining by 3.4 percent week on week. In the USEC service， most box liners kept freight rate on the present level this week， since freight rate adjustment did not impact the loading rate. On March 21， the freight rate in the Shanghai-USEC service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD3293 per FEU， almost in line with last week.

Transport demand kept stable overall in the Persian Gulf service. Following the rebounded freight rate last week， more than one box carriers announced rate increase plan from April 1 to 15， simultaneously， part box liners would limit capacity. Consequently， shipment willingness was encouraged recently， which boosted freight rate on the stable upward trend. On March 21， the freight rate in the Shanghai-Persian Gulf service （covering seaborne surcharges） was reported USD539 per TEU， up by 3.7 percent against one week ago.endprint

In the Australia service， cargo volume kept weak continuously， which evaded the effect of capacity limitation， while lower loading rate enforced part box liners further to relax spot rate. On March 21， the freight index in the China-Australia service quoted 870.05 points， slipping by 1.2 percent against one week ago.

In the South America service， the local economy condition has not been improved this year， and some indices have been deteriorated. Spot rate began to decline despite part box carriers hiking rate. On March 21， the freight rate in the Shanghai-South America service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD624 per TEU， diving by 9.0 percent week on week.

Cargo volume rose slightly in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate leaving Shanghai Port inched up to be around 85 percent， with spot rate stable. On March 21， the fright index in the China-Japan service quoted 831.09 points， almost in line with last week.

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