The futures opened higher on Maersk's blank sailing announcement but reversed course through the morning as traders judged that the blankings would not be sufficient to halt the spot rate decline. Bottom fishers then entered the market before HMM’s rate cut (from $2,100 to $1,700 per FEU) on next week’s sailings sent shockwaves through the market. Liquidation for EC2510 continued while the open position for EC2512 remain depressed.
Freight futures listed in Shanghai extended their decline from the final hour of yesterday’s session (2 Sep), as traders began to question whether MSC’s blanking of four voyages would be enough to offset the expected volume dip in the first half of October. In the physical market, however, liners continue to cut quotations for September FAK shipments, with Gemini operators reducing their offers to USD 1,650–1,700 per FEU. Trading volume fell sharply from yesterday’s 117,491 contracts to 40,534
Freight futures listed in Shanghai surged this morning, buoyed by a fresh influx of cash that pushed up every contract, as a blank sailing notice from MSC strengthened conviction in the market that freight rates have found a floor at around $2,000 per FEU. The MSC blank sailing will cancel four voyages, removing a total of 60,442 TEU—equivalent to 5% of the capacity deployed in October. Even after this reduction, the average weekly capacity for October will remain at 293,341 TEU. Buying intere
Freight futures contracts listed in Shanghai continued to decline. Trading volume remains steady but low, while open interest continues to rise. The main news concerns ONE reducing its quotation for shipments by $200 to $2,143 per FEU, and Hapag Lloyd lowering its rate for shipments departing in the last week of September by $200 to $1,835 per FEU.
Freight futures contracts in Shanghai experienced a sharper decline today compared to the average movements of the past two months, as traders showed increased conviction. The drop remains primarily driven by short sellers, while some buyers who believe the market is nearing a bottom continue to step in. As a result, both short and long positions attracted fresh capital, leading to a rise in open interest.
Freight futures contract prices continued to decline in response to the liners’ latest pricing actions. The primary selling pressure emerged in the afternoon, with most contracts closing near their intraday lows. Liquidity fell further to 25,424 contracts—the lowest level since April 2024. Open interest edged up slightly.
EC2512 continued to attract short selling throughout the day. For all EC contracts, a total of 34,224 contracts changed hands, marking one of the lighter trading sessions in terms of daily volume. Open interest rose by 1% to 79,739 contracts. For 1 September shipments, CMA CGM reduced its quoted rate from $2,420 to $2,200 per FEU, while Maersk listed $1,900 per FEU for cargo departing in the second week of September.
Freight futures extended their decline for a second consecutive day as CMA CGM and Evergreen made substantial cuts to their FAK rate quotations for sailings over the next two weeks, while Hapag-Lloyd lowered its August quotation to below $2,000 per FEU. Trading volumes remain thin, although open interest increased by 1,148 lots to reach 80,688 lots. EC2510, the benchmark contract, is approaching the 1,300 resistance level. The SCFI-Europe index, released after market close, fell 8.35% to $1,668
The freight futures listed in Shanghai dropped 1-2.7% for the day, except for EC2508 as short sellers add to their positions. Daily trading volume rebounded to 45,149, the highest in a week while the open interests have also increased by 3,174 lots to 79,540.
Quiet day and not much news flows. EC2510 dropped 1.33% for the day. Trading volume is thin as traders regard the contracts are already fairly priced. Some more liquidations on EC2510 and surprisingly also EC2512.