Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Zhu Pengzhou

In the week ending June 27， China export box market saw transport demand kept stable. Box carriers in many services complemented the freight rate increase plan. On June 27， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quoted 1092.11 points， almost in line with that last week； while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE quoted 1058.67 points， up by 1.5 percent from last week.

In the Europe service， transport demand kept warm， with the average slot utilization rate hovering around 95 percent. However， the spot rate was forced to decline as large vessels delivery and putting into service. Simultaneously， freight rate increase plan was fail in mid June， therefore， box liners was more cautious about the freight rate strategy， with small number of them implementing freight rate increase plan in early July， but most of them reducing rate. On June 27， the freight index in the China-Europe service quoted 1418.19 points， down by 1.0 percent. In the Mediterranean service， the market kept balanced overall， except for the East Coast of this service， which got worse for the lack of sufficient cargo volume. The West Coast of this service entered the traditional peak season， where the average slot utilization rate reached above 95 percent. In addition， because of the relatively higher level of freight rate than that in the Europe service， only few box liners carried out freight rate increase plan as scheduled， in the range from USD100-USD200 per TEU， which compared with the previous announcement of increasing by USD550 per TEU. On June 27， the freight index in the China-Mediterranean service quoted 1736.63 points， down by 0.8 percent against last week.

In the North America service， U.S. saw Manufacture PMI 57.5 in June， up by 1.1 percent against last month， sourcing from the robust growth of product and order. It represented that U.S. manufacture expanded fast， which spurred income and consumer demand. With the expectation of post market， some box liners levied PSS on cargoes that shipped in July， the freight rate in the USWC and USEC services increasing by USD200 per FEU and USD400 PER FEU respectively. On June 27， the freight rate in the USWC and USEC services （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1769 per FEU and USD3291 per FEU， rising by 2.8 percent and 2.4 percent from last week respectively.

In the Persian Gulf/Red Sea service， transport demand declined further. Part of box liners carried out temporary measures and retrieved the freight rate from slip pressure. On June 27， the freight index in the China-Persian Gulf/Red Sea quoted 1265.67 points， falling by 2.6 percent. Furthermore， some box liners implemented GRI since from July 1， boosting spot rate increasing by USD50 per TEU.

In the Australia/New Zealand service， transport demand did not increase. On the ground that freight rate kept on the lower level for a long time， AADA members would hike freight rte since from July 1. On June 27， the freight rate in the China-Australia/New Zealand service （covering seaborne surcharges quoted USD679 per TEU， surging by 65.6 percent from last week.

Cargo volume kept flat in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate leaving from Shanghai Port stood around 60 percent， with spot rate stable. On June 27， the freight index in the China-Japan service quoted 625.91 points， almost unchanged from last week.

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