Shipping market recovered from post-holiday dull period
In this week, the cargo volume of China's export container shipping market has recovered steadily. At the same time, while many vessels operated under blank sailing, the space supply was lower than that before the holiday, and the overall supply and demand relationship got better. Affected by this, carriers tried rate hiking plans on some shipping routes which resulted in a small rising of the comprehensive index of SCFI. On October 19th, Shanghai (Export) Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) quoted 926.25 points, up by 2.4% compared with previous week.
In the Europe route, the shipping demand recovery rate was better than expected, and market fundamentals showed signs of improvement. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai to Europe and Mediterranean increased to 90% while the gap between different carrier expanded. Affected by this, some carriers cut their booking rate competing for more consignments. And most carriers kept their rate unchanged. The market freight rate continued to wave in small range. On October 19th, freight rates in the route from Shanghai to Europe and Mediterranean (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD727/TEU and USD751/TEU, slightly down by 0.5% and almost kept even from last week ago respectively.
In the USWC route, as of the faster recovery rate of market transportation demand than that of the transportation capacity, most vessels were in tight space conditions. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai stabilized above 95%. Encouraged by the good performance of demand, some carriers again raised the booking rate, and the market freight rate increased accordingly. On October 19th, freight rates in the routes from Shanghai to USWC (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD2587/FEU, up by 3.4% compared to last week. In the USEC route, the recovery rate of transportation demand was slightly slower than that of the USWC route. The supply and demand relationship was almost in balance. The average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai was around 95%. Most carriers maintained wait-and-see strategy, and the market freight rate was stable. On October 19th, freight rates in the routes from Shanghai to USEC (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD3304/FEU, almost in line with last week.
In the Persian Gulf route, supported by the rebounding cargo volume, and the large-scale of blank sailing operation, the supply and demand relationship tended to be balanced. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai remained at around 90%. As the market fundamentals was improved in recent period, many carriers executed Rate Restoration Programs which leading a significant rebound on the spot market rate. On October 19th, freight rate in the Shanghai to Persian Gulf route (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD422/TEU, up by 15.3% from previous week.
In the Australia/New Zealand route, shipping demand continued to recover, while many voyages were still in blank sailing status. Benefited by this, the supply and demand relationship of routes continued to improve. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai remained above 90%. Due to the good fundamentals, most carriers hold the increased freight rate level, and the spot market price stabilized. On October 19th, freight rate in the Shanghai to Australia/New Zealand route (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD733/TEU, up by 2.4% against one week ago and had fallen for seven consecutive weeks.
In the South America route, the performance of transportation demand continued to be weak. Even in the case of some vessels stopping calling service, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai slid down to under 90%. Due to the pessimistic performance of the market volume, most carriers further lowered their booking rates. The market freight rate fell deeper and deeper. On October 19th, freight rate in the Shanghai to South America route (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD885/TEU, down by 7.0% compared to last week，down 65.2% y-o-y and reached the lowest position in almost past 30 months.
In the Japan route, shipping demand was stable, and the freight rate stood steadily. On October 19th, freight index in the China to Japan route quoted 717.67 points, up by 1.2% from previous week.