China Container Shipping Price Index Analysis Report for November

November is still the traditional low season for China's export container shipping market. This month, the market continued the previous weak trend. The overall market for China's export container shipping market continued to decline. The off-season prices of Europe and the United States and other ocean routes were further reflected and dragged down the market freight rate.

According to China Container Shipping's average price index ("blue net average price index") released by China International Maritime Net, overall China's export container prices in November, the European market fell 4.9%, the Central and South Americas fell 7.9%, the Mediterranean line Declined by 7.4%, of which the North American line fell by 13%, which was the highest decline in freight rates for this month. Among other routes, the prices of the Middle East and Japan and South Korea routes were basically the same as last month.

The overcapacity of European routes affected the freight rates of European routes. Due to the recent weakening of the overall international container transport demand and the relatively loose European shipping lanes, the freight rates of European routes continued to decline this month. Due to the end of the delivery period of Christmas goods to Europe, the shrinking of cargo volume caused the freight rate to decline more than in August, and the overall market trend is still downward. The overall shipping space of the shipping company maintained at an average of over 90%, and some voyages also had a phenomenon of explosion. As the market capacity is still relatively high, the freight rate continued its downward trend in the previous period, but due to the previous market, the freight rate has dropped significantly. On November 30th, the average price index of China's export-to-Europe shipping containers issued by China International Maritime Net was 1,514 points, which was 4.9% lower than that of 1563 points in the previous month.

Some shipping companies said that due to the current market capacity, if the freight rate continues to decline, it will consider pulling out some of the capacity on the European routes to prevent further declines in freight rates.

The analysis of the industry, the current market is the time of the more sluggish, and the volume of traffic is still continuing to shrink, the freight rate decline is inevitable. After Christmas, the European regions resumed their work one after another. With the consolidation of shipments before New Year's Day, the freight rates will likely stop falling and rise again. With the approach of small peak shipments at the end of December, some of the faster voyage rates are expected to stabilize, while some longer voyages may affect freight rates due to overcapacity.

The volume of North American routes continued to shrink in North American routes. This month, the volume of shipments continued to shrink. The pressure of oversupply of capacity was worsening. The freight rate continued to decline, and the decline further increased. The overall shipping space of the shipping companies is more relaxed than the European routes, and the average market space has fallen to around 80%. The average space utilization rate of the US West Coast line has dropped to around 80%, and the average vessel loading rate on the US East Coast line is around 70 to 75%. Due to the early arrival of the peak freight season in the second half of this year, after September, the market volume of the US route market dropped significantly. Coupled with the capacity of the new investment in the previous period, the market supply exceeding supply was becoming more apparent. The recent US quantitative easing policy was launched in the context of weak US economic growth and a high unemployment rate. It will have an impact on the economic recovery of various countries in the world and will further affect the demand for container transportation based on international trade. On November 30, the average price index of China's containers exported to North America issued by China International Marine Network was 2,677 points, a decrease of 13% from 2,807 points in the previous month.

According to analysis by industry insiders, the current freight rates of U.S. routes have changed by a large margin. Because the current U.S. dollar index has fallen by a large margin, and the Federal Reserve announced a new round of monetary quantitative easing policy on Thursday, the U.S. dollar will continue its weaker trend for some time in the future. This will, to a certain extent, curb the growth of total U.S. imports. U.S. route freight rates will also be affected. The U.S. economy has recently slowed down, capacity utilization is not high, residents’ willingness to save has increased, and consumer confidence has been depressed. This will affect the transportation demand of North American routes. Coupled with the current low season, the consignee basically completes inventory accumulation. The internal transport demand is unlikely to have a big improvement. If the capacity of the route has not yet seen significant contraction, the imbalance between supply and demand may further increase. It is reported that there are currently shipping companies planning to reduce the supply of some of the accommodation in December to ease the imbalance between supply and demand and reduce downward pressure on freight rates. At present, there is still no sign of improvement in the U.S. domestic economy. The U.S. Federal Reserve Board issued a report on the 23rd, reducing the U.S. economic growth rate this year to 2.4%-2.5%, which is lower than the 3%-3.5% forecast in June; The quantitative easing policy adopted earlier exceeded the market expectation. Excessive money supply may trigger global inflation, and its negative impact will gradually become clear in the next few months, all of which will bring more uncertainties to the prospects of China's export container shipping market.

Australia-Singapore route freight rates have risen on the Australia-Australia route. As Christmas goods are still being shipped, the overall volume this month is relatively abundant and the freight rates have risen. The shipping companies have raised the average freight rate by about US$50/TEU. The utilization rate of ship space in most voyages has remained above 95%, and full-fare voyages have been increasing. Due to the large amount of cargo, the shipping company's cabins were also relatively tight, and some voyages even experienced an explosion. Since the Christmas shipments to Australia are still being shipped, although the market performance of other routes is sluggish, the recent sufficient volume of ANZ routes supports the maintenance of higher freight rates. On November 30, the average container price index of China's exports to Australia, Australia and China issued by China International Marine Network was 1,175 points, up 5.1% from 1,116 points in the previous month.

According to industry sources, the ANZ route's Christmas shipments will end at the beginning of December, after which the market volume will drop by a large margin. The situation of oversupply of supply capacity is unavoidable. Some shipping companies have already considered taking out some of the capacity after December. To maintain the current tariff level. According to the market practice at the end of last year, in the coming quarter, the ANZ route is likely to replicate the downward trend of the previous European and American routes.

The freight rates of Japan and South Korea routes are stable in Japan. Currently, they are traditional peak seasons, and the volume is still relatively strong and maintains a growth trend. The average space utilization rate of ships on the Japan route remained above 80%, and the market freight rates were stable. On November 30, the average price index of containers exported by China International Maritime Net to the Japan Airlines route was 335 points, which was the same as that of the previous month.

Southeast Asian route prices fell by the Southeast Asian route from week to week. Affected by the overcapacity of European routes, the supply of Southeast Asian routes has gradually become abundant. In addition, the transportation demand has continued to weaken, and the market freight rate has been falling week by week. On November 30, the average price index of containers exported by China International Marine Network to China from Southeast Asia was 736 points, down 1.9% from 755 points last month.

The Persian Gulf route dropped slightly on the Persian Gulf route. The effect of the consignee’s Ramadan Festival has passed. In recent months, there has been a noticeable rebound in cargo volume, and the average space utilization rate of ships has remained at over 90%. As the market rebound is more obvious, the shipping companies generally raised the tariff. On November 30th, the average price index of China's containers exported to the Persian Gulf route issued by China International Marine Transport Network was 999 points, down by 0.4% from 1003 points of the previous month, with little change.