While the moving average utilization for vessels departing from the Far East remains high, the AE55's MSC TESSA, which departed yesterday, registered only 91% utilization—7 percentage points below the moving average. Far East - North Europe Head Haul Vessel UtilizationSince our last Daily CoFIF on November 14, the liners have reduced their quotes for November shipments while increasing their quotes for December shipments, which does not inspire much confidence in the December 1 GRI.
The longer dated EC contracts expiring after February 2025 have recovered most of their losses in the previous week as hopes for an early end to the Gaza conflict has diminished following the hawkish statements from Israel and increased strikes against targets in Gaza and Lebanon. The short-dated contracts for December 2024 and February 2025 largely held their ground despite increased scepticism over the carriers’ ability to push through additional rate hikes in December after their failure to
Most EC contracts are down this morning as overnight CMA CGM slashed its online quotation for November shipments to low $4,000 per FEU from $5,460 per FEU . Tianjin Shipping Index, the only daily freight index, dropped 1.6% overnight. No new vessel utilization data today.
Longer-dated EC contracts have rebounded as traders reassess the likelihood of a ceasefire in the Middle East, following reports that Israel has committed to continuing its military operations in Lebanon. Overnight, OOCL reduced its online quotation by 15-20%, now pricing shipments departing in November at $4,050 per FEU. This change comes as OOCL's DEMARK service left the Far East with utilization rates below 90%, which has pulled down the moving average utilization for alliance services that h
All EC contracts are down this morning, following a consistent trend since last Wednesday, where the longer-dated contracts have underperformed. Maersk released its quotations for December shipments at $6,000 per FEU, while MSC reduced its quotation for November shipments to $3,740 per FEU. Although the average utilization for the alliance services has reached new highs since June, independent services such as MSC's Britannia and Hapag-Lloyd's CGX have been trending downward. Far East-North Eur
EC container freight futures slumped on 11 November 2024 with the "Trump Trade" driving down longer-dated contracts on trade tariff concerns as well as a potential resolution of the Gaza crisis that could lead to the resumption of regular vessel traffic through the Red Sea. Near-term contracts for December 2024 and February 2025 slipped by smaller amounts after a brief rally at the end of last week as hopes for the pull forward of cargo bookings were dampened by carriers offering discounted rat
This morning, many container freight futures contracts dropped to their daily limit. The EC market is circulating a story about MSC reducing freight rates to $3,800 per FEU. The author has not yet been able to validate this claim. However, the fact that MSC and Maersk are still not quoting over $5,000 per FEU for shipments after mid-November may have triggered a reaction from EC traders. The sell-off this morning is still concentrated on longer-dated contracts, reflecting a belief in the EC mark
The freight futures market continues to follow a pattern similar to yesterday, with near-term contracts being bought and longer-dated ones sold. One point we overlooked yesterday is that Hapag Lloyd began quoting $7,000/FEU rates online. However, most liners kept their online quotations unchanged over the past two days. Utilization improved slightly overnight, as the CMA CGM ZHENG HE, which departed yesterday, registered nearly 100% utilization. Far East - North Europe Head Haul
The EC market is in "Trump trade mode" this morning, with near-term contracts rallying while longer-dated contracts have dropped. This movement is based on the expectation that Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods will lead to an increase in shipments before the tariffs are implemented, followed by a decrease in shipment volume afterward. However, the author believes that the impact of the tariffs is weaker than the organic growth in U.S. consumption, which is a key demand factor for container shipp
EC2502, the main contract of EC, rose 10% yesterday (November 5) on strong volume and maintained this gain through the morning session today, despite increasing concerns about the impact of the Trump administration on Chinese exports. Since our last daily update on November 1, COSCO and Evergreen have also raised their quotations for Asia-North Europe shipments to over $5,000/FEU. However, utilization has been declining since November 1. Far East - North Europe Head Haul