Last Thursday, there were media reports that the freight rate in the European container shipping market stopped falling, but because of the high drop in the European freight rate of the Drewry Container Freight Index (WCI) announced that night, the SCFI released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange in the afternoon of the next day also The drop, including shipping companies and freight forwarding companies, revealed that the freight rate reported by many shipping companies to customers last Friday was US$1,600-1,800 per large box (40-foot container), a drop of about US$200, and the lowest price $1500.

The freight rate of the European route continues to bottom out, mainly because the goods shipped to Europe can no longer catch up with the Christmas holiday sales, the market has entered the off-season, and the congestion problem at European ports has eased. , there is a continuous bottoming phenomenon, and it is very sure that there has been a quotation of 1,500 US dollars.

Because most of the shipping companies in the European line operate with large ships of more than 20,000 boxes (20-foot containers), the unit cost is low. The industry estimates that the cost price of each large box can be reduced to about US$1,500, and the European line has a loading port. The terminal handling charge (THC) at the port of discharge is about 200-300 US dollars in Europe, so the current freight rate will not make the shipping company lose money, and some shipping companies still insist on the freight rate of 2,000 US dollars per large box.

Xeneta, a Norwegian freight rate analysis platform, estimates that the capacity of container ships will increase by 5.9% next year, or about 1.65 million boxes. Even if the number of old ships dismantled increases, the capacity will still increase by nearly 5%. Alphaliner earlier estimated that the supply of new ships next year will increase by 8.2%.

The SCFI index released last Friday was 1229.90 points, a weekly drop of 6.26%. The index hit a new low in more than two years since August 2020. The freight rate from Shanghai to Europe was $1,100 per box, a weekly drop of $72, or 6.14%.