Total 428 Posts
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
Another wave of bottom fishers entered the market, this time focusing on EC2510, which has now become one of the most hotly contested freight futures contracts, closing with open interest at 56,602 contracts—the third highest after EC2404 and EC2406. Nevertheless, EC2510 gave back most of its earlier gains by the market close, though it still ended the day up 1.34%. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) reported a 4.4% weekly decline to 1,961, which translates to around $3,250 per FEU
Despite a decline in prices for most freight futures contracts listed in Shanghai, the market remained resilient, as today’s drop occurred on much lighter volume than yesterday. Both EC2510 and EC2512 closed near the day’s highs. Traders continue to show strong conviction that spot freight rates will not fall below $2,100 per FEU through June 2026, with a seasonal uptick expected in December potentially testing the $2,900 per FEU level. In the physical market, the liners are mostly offering $28
Contrarian traders entered the market this morning, driving up the prices of all futures contracts except for the EC2508. Although most contracts surrendered the majority of their gains by the close, all long-dated contracts still finished higher on the day. Furthermore, open interest rebounded to 78,000 from 74,000 yesterday. The EC2510 alone has an open interest of 54,361 contracts, representing approximately $500 million in value. This indicates that there is no shortage of bullish sentiment
MSC is believed to have fixed the 8,204 teu TSC DORADO and TSC LONDON that were released from detention in Malta in July after idling for the last 3 years. They will join MSC after completing drydock in Turkey. The removal of these 2 ships from the idle list has pushed the idle fleet to its lowest level in over 2 years. MSC has also taken the 8,827 teu VALIANT on 4 August for new 5 year charter on private terms after the ending its last charter to Hapag-Lloyd. It was part of a forward charter de
New SCFI rate assessments for 40’ containers are now available, with the assessments showing a steep decline in Med rates with FEU rates already falling behind North Europe. The removal of 9 SeaLead ships with an average capacity of 5,700 teu on the China-Med 5CX service will affect rates to the East Med and Black Sea as the service is focused on Egypt and Turkey but is not expected to impact rates to the West Med. North Europe rates also remain under pressure with several carriers offering sp
Global container throughput growth have been revised upwards and is expected to grow by 2.6% in 2025, in line with the IMF’s revised global GDP growth outlook released last week due to cargo front loading during the first half of this year, lower effective US tariff rates, improved financial market and government fiscal stimulus by several key countries. Despite the revision, the US tariffs have already spurred higher inflation and slower job growth which will lead to slower growth in the 2nd h
EC2510, the benchmark contract for Far East–North Europe freight futures listed in Shanghai, is currently the most hotly contested in the market. Bulls argue the contract is undervalued based on technical analysis—price charts suggest a bottom is forming around 1,450—while bears point to fundamental signals from the physical market, noting freight rates peaked during the last two weeks of July. On Wednesday (July 30), EC2510 opened higher on strong volume as bulls speculated that a typhoon appr
EC2510 closed at the day’s low of 1460, which is close to last week’s lowest point—a level some traders view as a technical bottom. However, this support will likely be tested tomorrow after Maersk released a quotation of $2,800 per FEU for shipments departing in the second week of August, following the market close. Hapag Lloyd had already lowered its quotation to $2,835 per FEU for shipments departing in the first week of August. Only 51,000 contracts were traded today, while open interest dro