Spot market rates hiked continuously on some service routes

　　In this week, the supply and demand relationship of China's export container shipping market has remained generally good, but the fundamentals of different routes have diverged. Driven by strong demand on some service routes, the spot market rates continued to hike significantly which pushed the comprehensive index to rise. On December 20th, Shanghai (Export) Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) quoted 904.83 points, up by 2.8% compared with previous week.

　　In the Europe route, the cargo volume has increased rapidly, and there was certain scale of capacity being frozen from market which led to a space tightened situation. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai Port has remained at almost 100%, and most vessels were already out of book. Due to the tight space, spot market rates continued to rise by carriers’ new round of rate hiking plan. On December 20th, freight rate in the route from Shanghai to Europe (including seaborne related surcharges) was quoted USD944/TEU, up by 5.7% from one week ago and has been rising for 4 consecutive weeks with a cumulative increase of 34.5%. In the Mediterranean route, the market fundamentals were solid. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai Port also remained at 100%, and most voyages departed with full loads. Backed by the strong fundamentals, most carriers remained their quotations on the hiked basis of last week. Only the booking rates on some specific vessels were slightly adjusted and the spot market rates have fluctuated slightly. On December 20th, freight rate in the route from Shanghai to Mediterranean (including seaborne related surcharges) was quoted USD1096/TEU, up by 1.2% from one week ago.

　　In the North America route, the cargo volume has been steadily rising. However, as some cargo owners were still waiting for result of the Sino-US trade negotiations, their holdings of pending shipments has resulted in a weaker volume growth than market expectations. Affected by the marketing strategy differentiation between the carriers, the loading rates among carriers were diversified. This week, the average slot utilization rates ex Shanghai Port to USWC and USEC were around 95% and 100% respectively. Affected by the transportation demand which is weaker than expectations, the booking rates on most vessels remained without change during the peak season. Spot market rate was dragged down by the downward adjustment of rates on some voyages. On December 20th, freight rates in the routes from Shanghai to USWC and USEC (including seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD1342/FEU and USD2451/FEU, down by 2.0% and 2.4% respectively compared to last week.

　　In the Persian Gulf route, the transportation demand remained at a high level, and with the help of carriers’ capacity controlling measures, the supply and demand relationship has maintained at healthy level. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai Port was above 95%, and most vessels were fully loaded. Due to strong demand and tightening space, the booking rates of most voyages were increased again and hit a new high since early June 2014. On December 20th, freight rate in the Shanghai to Persian Gulf route (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD1158/TEU, up by 13.9% from previous week and has been rising for 5 consecutive weeks with a cumulative increase of 53.4%

　　In the Australia/New Zealand route, the market volume has continued to decline. Although carriers remained their operations on blank sailings, the excess capacity situation still existed. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai Port was less than 80%, and it even dropped below 70% on some specific voyages. Most carriers maintained their quotations, but a few of them tried to increase their rates which led to a small rebounding of spot market rate. On December 20th, freight rate in the Shanghai to Australia/New Zealand route (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD774/TEU, up by 4.6% from one week ago.

　　In the South America route, the transportation demand remained at high level and the supply and demand relationship remained healthy. This week, the average slot utilization rate ex Shanghai Port was above 95%. After the continuous increase of market freight rates, carriers' marketing strategies have diverged. The booking rates on different voyages fluctuated and spot market rate declined slightly overall. On December 20th, freight rate in the Shanghai to South America route (contains seaborne related surcharges) quoted USD2000/TEU, slightly down by 0.7% compared to last week.

　　In the Japan route, cargo volume was stable, and the market freight rate slightly dropped. On December 20th, freight index in the China to Japan route quoted 728.73 points, down by 1.8% from previous week.