Total 447 Posts
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.
Rates to North Europe and Med have both dropped below $3,000/feu on the SCFI’s FEU assessment, with the pace of rate reductions accelerating as it becomes clear that the peak season is over. The extension of the US tariff pause on China has also reduced the pressure to shift part of the Chinese exports to Europe, which would have a negative detrimental impact on the European rates. The 90 day extension of the US tariffs on Chinese imports until 10 November has provided little relief to the fla
The smaller-than-expected SCFIS decline after market close yesterday (18 Aug) lifted EC2508 by 2% today, while the other contracts slipped by less than 1% on thin volume of 34,375 contracts. Total open interest decreased by 519 to 77,773 contracts. Maersk listed $2,100 per FEU FAK rates for shipment departing first week of September, same for shipment departing last week of August.
The containership charter market remains very buoyant, although total fixture volumes are relatively low due to limited vessel availability. SeaLead has taken the over-panamax 6,078 teu BZ CHONGFU on a 24-month charter in a deal that was fixed before the inclusion of 16 of its chartered on the US OFAC sanctions list. The Singapore-based carrier is now very short of tonnage as it has terminated the charter of the 16 ships with a total capacity of 74,286 teu ranging in size from 2,400 teu to 6,900
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
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