Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu Zijia

In the week ending Feb.5， as the end of Chinese New Year， transport demand slips in general. Freight rates in many services keep falling because of the worsened oversupply of capacity. On Feb.5， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quotes 772.27 points， down by 0.8% from one week ago； Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE has a week-on-week decrease of 4.2% to 566.92 points.

Euro zone economy is weak to grow， and residents' consumption is hit， which drags down the transport demand in the Europe service， where the average slot utilization rate goes on the downward trend. On Feb.5， freight index in the China-Europe service quotes 842.12 points， falling by 2.4% from one week ago. In the Europe service， cargo volume slips more than that its Europe counterpart， where competition is more stiffened， with spot rate in part services below USD300 per TEU. On Feb.5， freight index in the China-Mediterranean service tumbles by 8.0% from last week to 902.72 points.

Transport demand falls in the North America service， where the average slot utilization rate stands around 95%. Freight rate in most services that increase last week begin to fall down this week this week， and the increase effect even is evaded in some services. On Feb.5， freight rate in the services from Shanghai to USWC and USEC （covering seaborne surcharges） quote USD1321 per FEU and USD2341 per FEU， falling by 4.8% and 5.1% from one week ago respectively.

Cargo volume decreases slightly in the Persian Gulf service， where the average slot utilization rate hovers at around 85%. Spot rate tumbles continuously， with some even below USD200 per TEU. On Feb.5， freight rate in the Shanghai-Persian Gulf service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD276 per TEU， down by 0.7% against one week ago.

Cargo volume increases slightly in the Australia service， and some box liners reinforce to limit capacity， which improves the demand/supply condition has some improvement， and the average slot utilization rate returns to be above 90%. On Feb.5， freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia/New Zealand service （covering seaborne surcharges） quote USD479 per TEU， declining by 8.8% from one week previously.

Impacted by the weak economy in the core countries including Brazil， transport demand keeps shrinking In the South America service before the Chinese New Year， leading the average slot utilization rate hovering around 70%. Freight rate competition stiffens， and most of them slip， with some even below USD50 per TEU. On Feb.5， freight rate in the Shanghai-South America service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD113 per TEU， falling by 17.5% from one week ago.

Cargo volume keeps increasing in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate amounts to be above 85%， with spot rate stable. On Feb.5， freight index in the China-Japan service quotes 627.46 points.

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