Longer-dated contracts continue to rebound, primarily due to short covering as traders speculate on the schedule of liners' return to Red Sea. FAK quotations from liners have remained largely unchanged, with liners still holding at the low $3,000 level, consistent with the current EC2502 price. However, vessel utilization continues to trend downward.
The longer-dated contracts rebounded with high volume as traders re-assessed the schedule for liners' return to the Red Sea. Meanwhile, CMA CGM announced that the "CMA CGM COLUMBA will sail through the Suez Canal to call at the port of Jeddah as part of a single ad hoc call. Vessels on the EPIC service will therefore not systematically transit through the Suez Canal." ONE has revised its online spot quotation from $2,228 to $3,100 per FEU to remain in the pack with other liners. However, freigh
EC freight futures slid further following the Gaza ceasefire agreement, pushing the forward curve further into backwardation. The SCFIS spot index fell by 14.5% week-on-week, but forward rates are expected to drop by a further 55%-65% over the next 12 months. Average daily trading volume rebounded by 36% week-on-week, exceeding 75,000 lots per day, while open interest rose by 11%, approaching 2024 highs. The EC2502 contract held its ground with a relatively small 2% drop but trading volumes dro
The EC experienced a sell-off this morning following the ceasefire deal in Gaza. While it remains uncertain when the liners will return to the Suez/Red Sea, most EC contracts are already trading at levels not seen since mid-December 2023. There has been no new utilization data since yesterday, and the liner's FAK online quotations have decreased.
EC contracts continued to decline as traders anticipated a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas before the end of March. The near-term fundamentals in the physical market are also weak, as the pre-Lunar New Year cargo rush has been insufficient to counter the highest capacity deployment on the Far East to North Europe route in two years, resulting in falling head haul vessel utilization. Liners have continued to slash their online quotations. Traders expressed their bearish outlook, primari
Longer-dated container freight futures contracts for April to December 2025 fell by 5-12% week-over-week, with the futures market in steep backwardation as freight rates are expected to drop by 55 to 65% below current spot rates for most of 2025. The SCFIS recorded its second successive decline this year, dropping by a further 3.8% after last week’s 3.6% fall. The resolution of the ILA contract negotiations on the US East Coast removed the only potential catalyst for a freight rate rally, with
The freight futures made a same-day U-turn yesterday and edged up a bit more today after the OCEAN Alliance yesterday announced additional blank sailings for February. However, the liners continue to slash their freight rate quotations for shipments leaving in the next few weeks. Utilization has continued to trend downward as weekly capacity reached a 12-month high. The SCFI Europe is expected to report a double-digit decline after the market closes today.
The EC contracts continue to decline due to aggressive pricing from the largest shipping lines and concerns about a potential resumption of Red Sea passage under the Trump administration. On the liners' pricing, Maersk has offered the lowest quotation at $3,400 per FEU for shipments departing on January 20 and January 22. Tianjin - North Europe freight index, being published daily by Tianjin Shipping Exchange, dropped 5.65% overnight today.
EC container freight futures plunged between 4% and 11% week on week, with April contracts taking the hardest hit. Although average daily trading volume ticked up by 4%, it is 29% lower than the 2024 full year average of 87,000 lots per day. The EC2502 February contract dropped 9% WoW and is currently trading at a 40% discount to the latest SCFIS index released after market close on 6 January, with rising concerns over carriers’ aggressive pricing in January with further rate cuts expected post
EC2502 broke below 2200 this morning as Maersk has lowered its quotations for shipments departing in the second half of January to below $4,000 per FEU, prompting other liners to reduce their online FAK rates. As of yesterday (January 2), the latest utilization rates remain high, though the peak may have been reached on December 22, 2024. January's average weekly capacity, which is up 17% month-over-month, may be too high for Maersk to believe that liners will be able to achieve further freigh