Weekly Commentary on China

Containerized Transportation

（January 27， 2014 - January 30， 2014）Xu Qiao

In the last week before Chinese Lunar New Year， China export box market performed stable overall， with composite index in correction. On Jan.30， China （Export） Container Freight Index （CCFI） issued by Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） quoted 1158.16 points， nearly in line with one week ago， while Shanghai （Export） Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） issued by SSE quoted 1168.25 points， almost unchanged from last week. However， carriers mainly attracted cargo source this week， because manufactures should need time to recover work after the holiday， when shipment would be flat and booking rate would be lower slightly.

In the Europe and Mediterranean services， most services were full-loaded， because most box liners made and temporary measurement to cease service before the holiday. However， affected by the Spring Festival， domestic manufactures and road transportation enterprises were on the holiday， transport demand was little， and booking rate was dragged down. On Jan.30， the freight rates in the services from Shanghai to Europe and Mediterranean （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1580 per TEU and USD1609 per TEU， down by 1.1 percent and 1.5 percent week on week respectively.

The macro economy turned better in the North America service， with vessels in the USEC service full-loaded. On Jan.30， freight indices in the services from China to USWC and USEC services quoted 1004.65points and 1220.77 points； while freight rates in the services from Shanghai to USWC and USEC services （covering seaborne surcharges） was reported USD2108 per FEU and USD3426 per FEU， both almost in line with last week.

In the Australia service， shipment condition was better this week， and the average slot utilization rate in most services reached above 95 percent. On Jan.30， freight rate in the Shanghai-Australia service （covering seaborne surcharges） dropped by 1.6 percent week on week to USD835 per TEU.

In the Persian Gulf service， the overall transport market was not as good as other services， with spot rate slipping. Presently， rate declined at limited space and kept firm despite the sufficient supply of shipping space. On Jan.30， freight rate in the China-Persian Gulf service quoted 819.20 points， falling by 2.3 percent week on week.

In the South America service， the shipment in the West coast South America service still kept full-loaded， which performed better than that in the East coast South America service， where freight rate hovered at around 80 percent. Transport demand in the recent month was flat， which stimulated liners to limit capacity largely. Insiders revealed that box carriers would cut about 60% capacity during the lunar New Year， but impacted by the falling cargo volume， spot rate declined continuously. On Jan.30， freight rate in the Shanghai-South America service （covering seaborne surcharges） quoted USD1317 per TEU， down by 2.0 percent from last week.

Cargo volume kept sufficient in the Japan service， where the average slot utilization rate leaving Shanghai Port sustained at above 80 percent. On Jan.30， the freight index in the China-Japan service quoted 821.93 points.

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

SHIPPING EXCHANGE

BULLETIN

TOTAL EDITION： 870

18/2/2014

CONTENT FOR THIS WEEK

?DSIC Firms Shipbuilding Orders Valuing RMB13 Billion

?CIMC Raffles Eyes on Deep-Sea Equipments

?Hanjin Shipping Seeks Help from Private Equity

?Ren Yuanlin Controls Two Public Companies

?New Regulation on Coastal Bulk Terminals Will Be Effective

on July 1st

?Cai Hongda： Shanghai Maritime Arbitration Commission

Strives to Improve Investment Environmentendprint