Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu+Zijia

In the week ending May 29， China export box market sees transport demand stable， capacity expanding in most services. It drugs down the whole demand/supply condition. On May 29， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quotes 890.42 points， down by 0.1% from one week ago; while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE falls by 2.1% against one week ago to 661.55 points.

In the Europe service， transport demand has a year-on-year decrease. Nevertheless， as new mega vessels putting into services during the second period， the oversupply of capacity goes worse， with the average slot utilization rate stands around 85%. For the lack of support from general market， freight rate increase plan has to be extended from late May and early June. Booking rate in most service slips， with some even falling to be around USD200 per TEU. On May 29， freight rates in the services from Shanghai to Europe and Mediterranean （covering seaborne surcharges） quote USD342 per TEU and USD466 per TEU， diving by 23.0% and 19.8% from one week ago respectively， both making the new record since the issue of SCFI.

In the North America service， U.S. economy keeps increasing stably， boosting transport demand upward. In the USWC service， capacity is relaxed in the coastal ports， which abstracts more cargo volume， leading the average slot utilization rate recovering to be above 90%; in the USEC service， transport demand rose firmly， although new capacity expanding previously， unbalanced demand/supply condition is worsened. The average slot utilization rate in the USEC service keeps at around 90%， with some even reaching 95%. On May 29， freight rate in the services from Shanghai to USWC and USEC services （covering seaborne surcharges） quote USD1526 per FEU and USD3216 per FEU， up by 8.1% and 2.4% from last week respectively.

In the Persian Gulf/Red Sea service， as the approach of Ramadan， part of domestic manufactures speed up shipment space， which boosts cargo volume. However， impacted by the excess service， cargo volume leaves without remarkable change， with spot rate slip slightly. On May 29， freight index in the China- Persian Gulf/Red Sea service falls by 1.2% from last week to 886.95 points.

Demand/supply condition in the South America service deteriorates. In the East coast of this service， since that residents consumer demand is weak， transport demand is not hot， and the average slot utilization rate slips to be 80% around. Spot rate in the East coast of this service decreases illiterately， with some even about USD300 per TEU; In the West coast of this service， impacted by the input of mega vessels previously， the unbalanced demand/supply condition worsens， and the average slot utilization rate is below 80%， with spot rate hovering between USD200-300 per TEU. On May 29， freight index in the China-South America service quotes 535.85 points， falling by 6.8% from one week ago.

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