EC futures barely moved on thin volume today, despite a 12% jump in SCFIS overnight. Hapag-Lloyd lowered its January shipment quotations from $6,000-$8,000 per FEU to below $6,000 per FEU, while Maersk has yet to post any quotes for January shipments. Although the industry average utilization for the FE-NEUR route has rebounded to mid-November highs, THE Alliance sailings have shown relatively weak utilization in recent weeks, reflecting the price Hapag-Lloyd has paid for its leadership in raisi
EC contracts mostly lost ground over the past week with the longer dated EC futures after February 2025 registering drops over between 1% to 5%. In contrast, near-term contracts were firm with December 2024 and February 2025 contracts gaining some ground as carriers managed to hold on to the 1 December rate increases. The SCFIS released after the market close on 16 December 16 jumped by 14% week-over-week and 22% over the past two weeks, outperforming market expectations bringing the index to wi
The EC contracts rose today in anticipation of a strike at the US East Coast ports, following Trump's announcement that he would side with the labor union. However, the government's support for labor may mean that liners will have to make concessions, making a strike even less likely. The recent increase in average vessel utilization for FE-WCNA and the decrease for FE-ECNA suggest that cargo owners may have already begun shifting their east coast-bound shipments to vessels heading to the west c
Selling pressure on EC contracts continued today, with longer-dated contracts underperforming. This indicates that the primary driver at this point is the incremental changes in the Middle East as it moves toward a ceasefire deal. EC traders remain hopeful for one more round of freight rate increases in the FE-N.EUR before the CNY holidays. The utilization moving average ticked up slightly due to a couple of fully loaded vessels (APL CHANGI and ESTELLE MAERSK) that departed the Straits of Sing
EC contracts continued to decline throughout the day due to the possibility of a ceasefire following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Near-term contracts continue to outperform, fueled by hopes of another round of freight rate increases in December. Average utilization remained largely unchanged overnight. Evergreen and HMM raised their quotes by a few hundred dollars for shipments departing in the second half of December.
EC futures dropped across the board over the past week, with the earlier exuberance over the December rate hikes cooling off as spot market rates settle into a tighter range which will likely hold for the rest of the month before carriers attempt another round of rate hikes on 1 January. The SCFIS rose by 7.2% in the latest 9 December release to reach 3,033 points, but EC2412 still trades at a 12% premium at 3,398 with possible downside pressure as the mid-December rate increases appear to have
EC2502 briefly dipped below 2500 before recovering some losses. The main support for this contract hinges on the anticipated freight rate increase to $6,000 planned for December 30. However, the success of this increase will depend on vessel utilization, which has been trending downward since mid-November. Overnight, CMA CGM reduced their quotations for shipments scheduled in the second half of December by $400 to $600 per FEU.
Longer-dated EC contracts fell this morning as EC traders interpreted the fall of the Assad regime in Syria as a positive step toward peace in the Middle East. Near-dated EC contracts, such as EC2412 and EC2502, outperformed after Maersk issued an email after market on Friday (6 December) announcing a freight rate increase aimed at raising rates to $6,000 per FEU starting December 30, 2024. This $6,000/FEU target was originally set for December 1. Overall, trading volume remains light. However,
EC contracts saw minimal movement this morning as traders awaited the release of the SCFI for direction. Overnight, Maersk continued to slash their quotations, offering $4,400 per FEU from Qingdao to Rotterdam on an AE10 vessel departing on 22 December, compared to $4,700 per FEU for shipments departing from Shanghai before December 15. The utilization moving average remains around 97%, consistent with the level observed since second half of November. However, the week-to-date average utiliza
EC traders are disappointed by Maersk's lack of further action to increase freight rates over the past two days. While Hapag-Lloyd has become the first to announce its intention to raise freight rates to $8,000–$9,000 per FEU starting December 15, Maersk is already quoting lower freight rates for shipments departing after that date compared to those leaving now. The rates for each departure date have been reduced by 3% to 13% since November 30. Utilization is holding steady but remains 1.5 perce