The Valencia Containerised Freight Index (VCFI), the indicator that measures the trend and evolution of container transport costs by sea from the Port of Valencia, closed the 2022 financial year at 3,603.07 points, which represents a year-on-year decrease of 11.3% (December 2021 ended with 4,063.59 points). With respect to the beginning of the historical series in January 2019, the VCFI contemplates an accumulated growth of 260.31%, according to the Port of Valencia's release.
In 2022, the VCFI has presented a differentiated behaviour in two stages. Until August, the VCFI registered monthly increases until reaching its record level of 4,918.77 points. However, from September onwards, a sharp fall in the price of export freight was observed until the end of the 2022 financial year with 3,603.07 points, a trend that continued in the first months of this year 2023.
These data were presented this afternoon in the Clock Building of the Port of Valencia during the presentation of the annual report of the Valencia Containerised Freight Index (VCFI) for 2022.
An analysis of freight rates in the main sub-indices of the VCFI (Western Mediterranean, Far East and USA & Canada) shows an upward trend in the first half of the year 2022, while in the second half the fall in freight rates is generalised for all three areas, in line with the evolution of the VCFI at a global level.
Thus, in the case of the Far East, the Index ended the year at 2,372.04 points which represents a decrease of 36.6% compared to December 2021 which closed at 3,742.98 points. A downward trend that continues at the beginning of 2023. This decline is due to the general slowdown in the Chinese economy as a result of changes in global consumption patterns after the pandemic and reduced demand for products from the Asian country due to high energy prices, rising interest rates, sustained inflation and the situation in Ukraine.
In the Western Mediterranean, the VCFI ended 2022 at 1,897.94 points compared to 2,117.26 in 2021, a decrease of 10.4%. It remains in this line at the beginning of 2023, which shows a slight decrease in the first four months.