SCFI declines 1.9%

Rates from Shanghai to Europe declined 4.7 percent since last week, from $859 per TEU to $819 per TEU, while rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean fell 4.3 percent, from $838 per TEU to $802 per TEU.    The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) fell 1.9 percent from last Friday’s reading of 761.15 to a reading of 747.03.
   Rates from Shanghai to Europe declined 4.7 percent since last week, from $859 per TEU to $819 per TEU, while rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean fell 4.3 percent, from $838 per TEU to $802 per TEU.
   Freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta’s Chief Marketing Officer Katherine Barrios said Thursday ocean freight contract negotiations for the China Main-North Europe corridor are moving along, following delays in negotiations late last year and early this year as beneficial cargo owners sat cautiously back to see how the market would develop.
   “With the market seemingly recovering after a rally in Q4 2016, carriers still remain more in the driver’s seat,” Barrios said. “The much anticipated Chinese New year did not do too much to crash prices significantly. Negotiations are now on their way or coming to a conclusion for Asia-Europe.”
   Looking ahead, contract negotiations for North American companies will begin soon, and the transpacific will be in the spotlight, Barrios said. Although the market does seem as though it is on a path to recovery, it is still unpredictable for a number of reasons, including low demand, overcapacity, the new alliances launching in April, and how the capacity crunch is scaring some to airfreight, Barrios said.