The freight futures market edged higher again today, though the main activity was a continued liquidation of EC2510 positions. The 1.1% rise in EC2510 was therefore largely the result of short covering. Despite pricing in a downcycle over the next 12 months, futures traders remain firmly of the view that (1) liners will be able to push up freight rates during each seasonal uplift in volume, and (2) $2,000 per FEU is a strong resistance level. The SCFI Europe index, released after the close, fel
Prices for longer-dated contracts rebounded slightly on thinner volumes and some liquidations. The benchmark EC2510 contract edged down 0.18%, while open interest fell by 4,042 to 56,698 contracts — possibly an early sign that long-position holders are throwing in the towel. Vessel utilization for the first 9 sailings of Far East-North Europe route this week rebounded to 96% but still below the peak of 97% in July. Track vessel utilization here. Hapag Lloyd lowered its quotations for the Augus
Wan Hai will return to the Asia-Med trade with the launch of the new Far East-Mediterranean 1 (FM1) service calling at Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Shekou, Port Klang, Jeddah, Aqaba, Sokhna, Alexandria, Izmit, Ambarli, Shanghai from 12 September 2025. The FM1 service will turn in 10 weeks and will operate on an irregular basis starting with the 4,680 teu WAN HAI 513 at Shanghai on 12 September. The service features an extension of Wan Hai's Asia-Red Sea 2 (AR2) extra loader service that was launche
The debate over where freight rates will settle in October continues. Short-sellers came in this morning with fresh capital, pushing all contract prices lower. Yet it would be remiss not to note that open interest has risen to 87,000, indicating that long-position holders have not only resisted liquidating but have, on the contrary, added to their positions. Based on the exchange’s broker-level open interest report, most of the increase in long positions reflects new entries, indicating a wave o
Transpacific cargo volumes rebounded sharply in July, with total Far East-US container arrivals reaching 1.810m TEU, surpassing the previous record of 1.805m TEU in January 2022. China’s share of the total volumes recovered to 55%, up from 48% in the previous 2 months. Although Vietnam’s share slipped from the peak of 20% last month to 17%, total volumes from Vietnam still reached a record high of 310,500 teu. The rally comes as higher US import tariffs take effect on 7 August 2025, with Transp
The SCFIS index to North Europe dropped for the 4th consecutive week, shedding 2.7% on 11 August to 2,235 points with further weakness expected through October, with EC2508 and EC2510 trading at a 7% and 37% discount. Average EC trading volumes dropped to 50,000 contracts last week but open interest rose 9% on the week to above 80,523. The EC2510 contract is now the most hotly traded, with 56,688 open positions—the third‑highest on record, behind only EC2404 and EC2406 positions in December 2023
North Europe rates remain under pressure with spot rates dropping below $2,900/feu against the latest SCFI assessment of $3,234/feu. Carriers continue to slash rates after capacity utilization slipped in the past week. Average weekly capacity in August will be higher than July, with weeks 32-34 expected at over 350,000 teu per week. Gemini carriers continue to maintain a 100% sailing record on its North Europe network, with no blank sailings since April. While this approach has enabled Maersk
COSCO and OOCL will launch a new Asia-Mexico Express (WSA8/TLP8) service connecting Shanghai, Qingdao, Ensenada, Manzanillo, Ensenada, Yokohama, Shanghai from 20 August 2025. The WSA8/TLP8 service will turn in 7 weeks and willl deploy 7 ships of 3,300 to 4,300 teu to starting with the 4,250 teu XIN FANG CHENG at Shanghai on 20 August 2025.
Register Free Trial Market speculation of a management buyout at Zim has sparked a rally in the company’s shares with CEO Eli Glickman reported to have partnered with Abraham Ungar who owns Ray Shipping to make a bid to acquire the Israeli carrier. Zim’s share price has been trading at a discount of over 50% to its book value and is expected to release its 2nd quarter financial results on 20 August. The move comes as freight rates continue to slip with the SCFI falling for the 9th consecutive
Sinotrans has replaced its China India West (CIW) service operated in partnership with SeaLead with a new CIW service operated in partnership with COSCO on the latter's China India 1 (CI1) service. Sinotrans will operate the 4,130 teu REN JIAN 19 on the CI1/CIW service from 28 June 2025 connecting Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Yangpu, Singapore, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Karachi, Colombo, Singapore, Shanghai, joining 5 other ships from COSCO of 8,500 to 9,500 teu.