On July 12th, SCFI was 3674.86 points, down 1.6% from a week ago, marking the first decline in SCFI after 13 consecutive weeks of gains since April.
The freight rates in the consolidation market have experienced a pullback after a sustained increase, with European routes experiencing a slight rise, Mediterranean routes experiencing a slight decline, and US West and US East routes experiencing a comprehensive decline.

The Shanghai Export Container Freight Index (SCFI) released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange showed that on July 12th, the SCFI was 3674.86 points, a decrease of 1.6% from a week ago. This is the first time that SCFI has fallen after 13 consecutive weeks of gains since April.


Looking at different routes, the European market is currently facing various tests due to the impact of the EU's policy on exporting electric vehicles to China.

On July 12th, the market freight rate (sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai Port to European basic ports was 5051 US dollars per TEU, an increase of 4.0% from a week ago. The market freight rate (including sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai Port to Mediterranean basic ports is $5424/TEU, a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to a week ago.

Although European shipping rates have slightly increased, the increase is lower than the previously announced increases by some shipping companies. And a week ago, European routes also fell slightly by 0.5%, in sharp contrast to previous double-digit weekly increases.

However, after multiple price increases by shipping companies, the current price increase for European routes has reached 153% compared to early April, and the price increase for Mediterranean routes has also reached 80%.



Against this background, liner companies have postponed or canceled their efforts to increase freight rates on North American routes, and some liner companies have also lowered freight rates. However, it is still too early to conclude that the U.S. line market has reached a freight rate turning point. In the long run, China-US trade volume will most likely remain at a high level. If liner companies no longer continue to increase shipping capacity supply, supply and demand are expected to maintain a dynamic balance, and freight rates may fluctuate slightly based on a high base.



At the same time, due to insufficient support for transportation demand, freight rates on North American routes have shown a trend of adjustment.

On July 12th, the market freight rates (sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for Shanghai Port's exports to the West and East Coast ports were $7654/FEU and $9881/FEU, respectively, a decrease of 5.5% and 0.6% from a week ago. This is also the first time that freight rates in both the Western and Eastern markets have fallen after 11 consecutive weeks of growth.

In recent times, supported by the increase in import volume from the United States, there has been a strong demand for shipping capacity in the market. Several shipping companies have resumed and increased their routes to the United States, forming a situation of strong supply and demand. However, at the same time, due to the early shipment of most e-commerce platforms, the inventory has been gradually completed. In addition, some importers and exporters cannot afford the high freight rates and choose to suspend or delay shipments, resulting in a decrease in current transportation demand and a market shift towards oversupply.

In this context, shipping companies have postponed or cancelled the push up of freight rates for North American routes, and some shipping companies have lowered their freight rates. But it is still too early to conclude that there has been a turning point in freight rates in the US market.

Previously, from late March to mid April, the US dollar market also experienced multiple weeks of declining freight rates, but later saw a hot trend of a 20% increase in single week freight rates, and freight rates continued to rise. Compared with the freight rates at that time, the freight rates on the West Coast route have increased by 125%, and the freight rates on the East Coast route have increased by 122%.

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, in the first half of this year, China's exports to the United States amounted to 1.71 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%. The trade surplus with the United States was 1.14 trillion yuan, an expansion of 8.4%. Overall, China US trade remained stable and positive.

In the long run, the trade volume between China and the United States is likely to remain high. If shipping companies no longer continue to increase their capacity supply, it is expected that supply and demand will remain dynamically balanced, and freight rates may fluctuate slightly on the basis of a high base.

The South American route also saw a drop in freight rates. On July 12th, the market freight rate (sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai Port to South American basic ports was $8760/TEU, a decrease of 2.9% from a week ago.

The demand in the Australia New Zealand airline market is stable, the supply and demand fundamentals have improved, and freight rates have increased. On July 12th, the market freight rate (including sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai Port to the basic port of Australia and New Zealand was $1404/TEU, an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous period.