Relentless deterioration meets stunning overcapacity.
..exports are down 9.6% year-over year. Specifically:
- To the US -8.8%
- To Hong Kong -6.5%
- To Japan -5.5%
- To South Korea -11.2%
- To Taiwan -3.7%
- To the countries in the ASEAN -13.7%
- To the EU -6.9%
- To South Africa -29.6% (!)
- To Brazil -47.2% (!!)
- To Australia -1.9%
- To New Zealand -12.4%.
China Ocean Freight Index Collapses to Record Low
The amount it costs to ship containers from China to ports around the world, a function of the quantity of goods to be shipped and the supply of vessels to ship them, just dropped to a new historic low.
The China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) tracks contractual and spot-market rates for shipping containers from major ports in China to 14 regions around the world. It reflects the unpolished and ugly reality of the shipping industry in an environment of deteriorating global trade.
For the latest reporting week, the index dropped 0.6% to 636.14, its lowest level ever. It has plunged 41% from the already low levels in February last year, and 36% since its inception in 1998 when it was set at 1,000. This chart shows the continuing collapse of containerized freight rates from China to the rest of the world: