The settlement price for EC2412 ended higher than expected with the last 2024 SCFIS assessment on 30 December coming in 4.4% higher than a week before, bringing the final settlement to 3,445 which was 1.5% above the closing price of 3,396. Despite the stronger finish in December, EC futures for 2025 traded lower over the past week, with the main contract for EC2502 falling 13% week-over-week on lower daily volumes. Traders shrugged off the SCFI North Europe rebound on 27 December, as attention
EC2502 continues to decline as Maersk's January quotation has weakened the liners' resolve to pursue further freight rate increases amid the shipment rush before the CNY holidays. HMM has lowered its quotation for January shipments to below $4,800 per FEU, indicating that HMM believes the FAK freight rates have already peaked.
The main futures contract for EC2502 fell 2% week-over-week on significantly lighter volume compared to previous weeks, with traders liquidating 11% of their open interest amidst concerns that spot rates may have peaked. Longer-dated freight futures dropped further on weakening sentiment for post Chinese New Year rate developments with sellers increasing their short positions. Traders were spooked by Maersk’s rate quotation for January shipments that was $500 below the $6,000 per FEU target set
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.