China Export Volume Dips but Expected to Rebound in February
China’s index of export container transport declined in the week ending January 13, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The average China Containerised Freight Index (CCFI) went down 4.3 per cent to 1,201.55 from the previous week, according to the exchange.
The sub-index for the Korea service led the decrease with a week-on-week drop of 10.1 per cent. Bucking the trend, the sub-reading for the Australia/New Zealand service rose one per cent from a week earlier.
The CCFI tracks spot and contractual freight rates from Chinese container ports for 12 shipping routes across the globe, based on data from 22 international carriers. The index was set at 1,000 on January 1, 1998. This data does not come as a surprise to industry experts due to the impending Lunar New Year holidays and is expected to rebound in February somewhat with China opening up its borders and workers returning to factories.