SCFI: The latest issue of Shanghai Export Container Freight Index was released. The SCFI index fell 59.4 points to 4143.87 points, down 1.4% from the previous issue and falling for four consecutive weeks.

SCFI: The latest Shanghai Export Container Freight Index of was released. The SCFI index fell 59.4 points to 4143.87 points, down 1.4% from the previous period and falling for four consecutive weeks.

According to the latest freight index , the freight rates of major routes from Far East to Europe, Mediterranean , US West and US East continued to decline collectively compared with the previous week. Among them, US East and US West experienced larger declines; Far East to South America. It increased compared with the previous week; Asian offshore routes to South Korea also continued to increase compared with the previous week.

European routes: Strikes have been reported across Europe recently, which has extended the original port congestion problem from the United States to Europe, including the ports of Hamburg, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium. Although there is no strike at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, due to Hamburg , Antwerp Port and other port cargo transfers are blocked. The port is also relatively busy, and the waiting time for ships to enter the port is lengthened.

●The freight rate from the Far East to Europe dropped relatively small, falling by US$34 from the previous week to US$5,697/TEU, a decrease of 0.6%;

●The freight rate from the Far East to the Mediterranean dropped by US$63 from the previous week to US$6,355/TEU, a decrease of 1.0%. .

US line: Data recently released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) show that in June, the US national factory activity index fell to 53.0, the lowest value since June 2020, indicating that the future economic growth of the United States will slow down significantly. In addition, in order to continue to control inflation, the Federal Reserve is forced to continue to raise interest rates, and the U.S. economy may face stagflation in the future. Affected by this, transportation demand has been basically stable, and market freight rates have continued to adjust.

●Far East to US West fell by US$218 from the previous week to US$7116/FEU, a decrease of 3.0%;

●Far East to US East fell by US$82 from the previous week to US$9602/FEU, a decrease of 0.84%.

● Far East to South America increased by US$570 from the previous week to US$8,954/TEU, an increase of 6.79%.

FBX: The latest issue of 's Baltic Freight Index (Freightos Baltic Index, FBX) shows that in terms of trans-Pacific freight, the freight rate from Asia to the United States fell by 2%, or US$159, to US$7,409/FEU (including premiums). The freight rate from Asia to the US East fell by 2% or US$190 to US$9,882/FEU, falling below the US$10,000 mark for the first time.

European and Mediterranean routes have been stable with slight fluctuations in the past five weeks. Asia to Northern Europe fell 1% to $10,471/FEU; Asia to the Mediterranean fell 3%, or $446, to $12,439/FEU.

Shipping companies "took the lead" in reducing spot freight rates, weakening the competitiveness of freight forwarders.

Due to concerns about the deterioration of the market, shipping companies "took the lead" in lowering spot freight rates and weakened the competitiveness of freight forwarders with freight rates lower than those of freight forwarders.

According to the executive director of the Hong Kong Shippers Association, freight forwarders are resisting shipping companies' method of reducing freight rates, although shipping companies' freight rates have dropped by as much as 30%. But shipping companies took the lead - this year, they offered freight rates to BCOs (cargo owners) that were more competitive than freight forwarders, reflecting shipping companies' desire to secure cargo supplies amid concerns about a deteriorating market.

Singapore Nut Peter Sundara, global head of ocean freight at a large shipper, said carriers have so far given "no sign" of reducing rates on long-term contracts. He said: "On most trade routes, spot freight rates have dropped by 5%-10%, but only on the trans-Pacific route, spot freight rates are lower than long-term agreement prices. On the Asia-Europe route, this gap has narrowed , but spot freight rates are still slightly higher. The main reason is that port congestion in Europe is now much worse than on the US West Coast. "Sundara said that the "only factor" preventing shipping companies from lowering freight rates is mainly on the European and US East Coast. Port congestion bottleneck.

Sundara said: "A lot of people are talking about the economic downturn and the market is softening, which may be true. But at the same time, goods in other market areas including raw materials are still flowing. As operators there is no real incentive to go Lower contract rates. Overall, supply chain challenges remain, which is a plus for operators."

Industry insiders pointed out that the port congestion problem in Europe and the United States is difficult to solve in the short term. Coupled with year-end procurement and peak season demand, shipping shipments are expected to recover, which may also drive up freight rates. In addition, China's domestic market has recovered after the epidemic. Coupled with the reorganization of the supply chain caused by the Sino-US trade war, the country has formed a "dual cycle" economic model of both production and consumption, and the demand for domestic trade warehousing and transportation has also continued to grow.