Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu+Zijia

In the week ending May15， China export box market sees transport demand stable overall， but the oversupply of capacity is not improved completely， with freight rates in many services slip. On May 15， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quotes 875.21 points， down by 1.5% from one week ago; while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE fell by 8.7% against one week ago to 757.66 points.

In the Europe service， cargo volume improves stable. Most box liners carry on capacity control measures， but still fail to improve demand/supply condition， with the average slot utilization rate keeping at around 85%. Spot rate in most services falls beyond USD200 per TEU. On May 15， freight rate in the Shanghai-Europe service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD658 per TEU， diving by 23.6% against one week ago.

In the North America service， recent US economy recovers slow and various economic data goes mixed， with value of retail sales in April marching on the spot， but unemployment in the first half of May keeps dropping， reflecting the future labor market hopeful. ?In the USWC service， as the delayed ships releasing， the demand/supply condition is worsening. Many carriers drop rate further for cargoes， with rate declining below USD1400/FEU in some voyages. On May 15， freight rate in the Shanghai-USWC service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD1519/FEU， slip by 7.8% from one week ago. Demand/supply condition in the USEC service goes better， with the average slot utilization rate standing to be 90% above， even some approaching to 95%. On May 15， freight rate in the Shanghai-USEC service （covering seaborne surcharges） has a week-on-week decrease of 2.9% to USD3215 /FEU.

Cargo volume traps on the weak condition in the Australia/New Zealand service， where box liners reinforce capacity limit measures， leading the space supply shrinking by 20%， and the average slot utilization rate rising to be 85% around. On May 15， freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia/New Zealand service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD499 per TEU， surging by 20.2% from one week ago.

Part of cargo owners begin to reinforce shipment pace in the Persian Gulf/Red Sea service， boosting cargo volume on the upward trend. The average spot rate in the Persian Gulf service fells to USD650 per TEU about， while that in the Red Sea hovers between USD900-1000 per TEU. On May 15， freight index in the China-Persian Gulf/Red Sea quotes 872.47 points， down by 0.2% from one week ago.endprint

In the South America service， transport demand keeps weak recently， where the average slot utilization rate hovers at around 85%. Spot rate slips further， with that in the west coast of South America service falling to USD500 per TEU this week， and that in the East coast of this service decreases to USD650 per TEU. On May 15， freight index in the China-South America service quotes 601.82 points， diving by 12.7% from one week ago.

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

SHIPPING EXCHANGE

BULLETIN

TOTAL EDITION： 933

26/5/2015

CONTENT FOR THIS WEEK

?“One ?Belt ?One ?Road” ?Policy ?Boosts ?Port

Construction Hot

?The ? Integration ? of ? State-owned ? Shipping

Companies to Be More Clear

?Vale ?Cooperates ?with ?Chinese ?State-owned

Shipping Companies

?Shanghai Port Embraces More Opportunity

?Ningbo City Strives to Improve Environment for

Shipping Firms

?Yangzijiang Shipyards Difficulties and Troublesendprint