Weekly Commentary on China Containerized Transportation

Liu+Zijia

In the week ending Dec.26， China export box market experiences weak transport demand in many services， with the whole market tumbling. On one hand， impacted that freight rate increases further in the ocean-going services since mid Dec.， the general freight rate goes north slightly. On Dec.26， China （Export） Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quotes 1044.99 points， up by 0.8% from one week ago. On the other hand， the booking rate in many services begins to decline for the lack of support from cargo volume. On Dec.26， Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE slips by 3.9% against last week to 1076.63 points.

In the Europe service， the general condition is not improved in the market， where the economy stops increasing， plus the relatively high unemployment rate which reaches to be 11.5%. As a result， transport demand is dragged down. Furthermore， as the coming of new year， most box liners start to adjust service and capacity layout， leading to the evident of demand/supply condition， and the average slot utilization rate keeping at around 90%. Spot rate in this service keeps dropping depressively， and box liners have to reduce freight rate to lock market share. On Dec.26， freight rates in the services from Shanghai to Europe and Mediterranean （covering seaborne surcharges） quote USD1149 per TEU and USD1303 per TEU， decreasing by 6.6% and 6.4% from one week ago respectively.

In the North America service， the stable economy condition and dynamic economy behavior lay a firm foundation for transport demand. Box liners begin to hike freight rate after mid Dec.， with the whole freight rate upward. On Dec.26， freight indices in the services from China to USWC and USEC services quote 1000.28 points and 1381.80 points， up by 1.9% and 0.5% comparing with that last week respectively. However， impacted by the collective negotiation， cargo volume in the USWC service is transferred to other ports， hitting the transport demand in this area.  Finally， booking rate in the spot market declines after some box liners reducing freight rate In a contrast， space supply is short in the USEC service， with more than one service full-loaded. Under the support of nice booking rate， freight rate keeps the increasing achievement successfully.

The market is stable in the Persian Gulf service， despite capacity is limited in some services， the average slot utilization rate is failed to be improved， with spot rate beginning to drop after increasing for two consecutive weeks. On Dec.26， freight rate in the China-Persian Gulf service （covering seaborne surcharges） quotes USD877/TEU， having a week-on-week decrease of 4.9%.endprint

In the Australia service， transport demand stands to be weak. In order to improve the demand/supply condition， AADA members cease services in successions further， but the effect is not satisfying. The average slot utilization rate in this service is reluctant to be 80%， with spot rate slipping further. On Dec.26， freight index in the China-Australia service quotes 815.38 points， down by 1.3% from one week ago.

Cargo volume keeps slip in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate leaving Shanghai Port fells to be below 50%. On Dec.， freight index in the China-Japan service tumbles by 2.4% from last week to 642.94 points.

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

SHIPPING EXCHANGE

BULLETIN

TOTAL EDITION： 915

13/1/2015

CONTENT FOR THIS WEEK

?Four Alliances Are Formed in the East-West Trade

?Maersk Elaborates 2M Details

?CSCL Adheres to Nonalignment

?COSCON Is Optimistic about Shipping Alliances

?Sainty Marine Is Plagued by Mingde Heavy Industry

?CMA CGM on the Way of Acquisitionendprint