An increase in US export activity and European imports has reversed the downward trend in rates for the container shipping industry, according to the latest XSI® Public Indices report from Xeneta. The Oslo headquartered freight rate benchmarking and market intelligence platform today reveals that its index, which utilizes a database of over 85 million contracted freight rates, indicates a month-on-month rise in long-term rates of 2.5%. Although relatively modest, the climb halts a decline that has effectively been on going since August 2018.
XSI® is based on constantly updated crowd-sourced rates pooled from hundreds of leading global players, including shippers such as Electrolux, Nestle, Unilever, Tata Steel and Continental. This wealth of exclusive data covers over 160,000 port-to-port pairings, allowing Xeneta to provide unique insight into the constantly evolving world of global freight rates.
February’s report, notes Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund, makes for interesting reading.
The US export indicator in XSI® experienced an 8% rise. As such the declines of the previous year have been reversed, with the benchmark now on par with March 2018 values. Imports remained largely unchanged, down just 0.1%.
The European market is similarly dynamic. Here the import benchmark climbed by 3.9%, translating to a year-on-year rate increase of 7.1% (and a 2.5% rise since the end of 2018). However, Berglund warns that the introduction of Ocean Alliance’s seventh loop service in April (with ten 13-14,000 TEU ships from Evergreen) has the potential to outstrip demand and exert downward rates pressure. The European export indicator rose 0.5%.
About Xeneta
Xeneta is the leading ocean freight rate benchmarking and market intelligence platform transforming the shipping and logistics industry. Xeneta’s powerful reporting and analytics platform provides liner-shipping stakeholders the data they need to understand current and historical market behavior – reporting live on market average and low/high movements for both short and long-term contracts. Xeneta’s data is comprised of over 85 million contracted container rates and covers over 160,000 global trade routes. Xeneta is a privately held company with headquarters in Oslo, Norway and regional offices in New York and Hamburg.