The freight rate has fallen for nine consecutive days! The freight rates of the four major routes in Europe and America have plummeted!

The effect of tariff increase in the United States has expanded, and the Shanghai Container Export Freight Index (SCFI) has fallen for nine consecutive weeks. 

According to the latest data released by Shanghai Airlines Exchange on March 14th, the SCFI index fell by 116.96 points to 1,319.34 points last week, with a weekly decrease of 8.14%. The four major ocean-going routes in Europe and America all fell, especially in Europe, where the freight rate plummeted due to the large number of large ships and insufficient cargo.

The freight rate per FEU from the Far East to the western route of the United States fell by 326 US dollars to 1965 US dollars, with a weekly decline of 14.23%;

The freight rate per FEU from the Far East to the East Line of the United States dropped by $352 to $2,977, with a weekly decrease of 10.57%.

The freight rate per TEU of the Far East-Europe line dropped by 240 US dollars to 1342 US dollars, with a weekly decrease of 15.17%;

The freight rate per TEU of the Far East-Mediterranean line dropped by US$ 222 to US$ 2,295, with a weekly decrease of 8.82%.

On the near-ocean line, the freight rate per TEU from the Far East to Kansai, Japan was the same as that of the previous week, at $304; The freight rate per TEU from the Far East to Kanto, Japan is the same as that of the previous week, which is $308; The freight rate per TEU from the Far East to Southeast Asia increased by 7 to 446 dollars compared with the previous week; As far away as South Korea, the freight rate per TEU is the same as that of the previous week, which is 137 US dollars.

Insiders pointed out that although a number of container transportation companies plan to raise freight rates in early April, the US line plans to increase by 1,000 US dollars and the European line plans to increase by 2,000 US dollars, but the market has different reactions. Mediterranean shipping company is the first to announce that the European line will follow the quotation at the end of March in the first week of April, which may weaken the price increase momentum of other container companies, and the market is closely watching whether other companies will follow suit.

At present, the container transportation market is in the off-season, and after the effect of avoiding tariff grabbing for export has subsided, the market presents a situation of less goods and more ships. Coupled with the escalation of trade friction between China and the United States, the negotiations between the two countries are progressing slowly and the wait-and-see mood is strong. In order to improve the loading rate, container transportation companies have adopted price reduction strategies, which has led to the intensification of freight rate war.

US President Trump has imposed 10% tariff on China for two consecutive waves since he took office, which has pushed the average tariff to 35% quickly, making shippers more cautious in shipping. According to the statistics of China Customs, exports denominated in US dollars in the first two months of this year only increased by 2.3% year-on-year, far less than half of the market expectation, the lowest increase since last April.

If the follow-up negotiations between China and the United States are not smooth, Trump may further impose tariffs, which will aggravate the uncertainty of exports and thus have a negative impact on cargo volume and freight rates.

However, some analysts believe that the impact of tariffs may be short-term. With the continuation of the trade war, the market entered the observation period, shippers were cautious in shipping, and the volume of goods was affected. However, once the trade war situation becomes clear and the market enters an adaptation period, American retailers may start restocking or making seasonal purchases, and the volume of goods is expected to gradually recover.

The industry pointed out that the key at present is when the volume of goods exported from Asia to Europe and the United States will recover. It is expected that the volume of goods will pick up again in April, when the freight rate will begin to return to stability