Tianjin Shipping Index (Apr.2-Apr.4)

2018-04-13

I. Tianjin Shipping Index (TSI)

In Week 14 2018 (Apr.2-Apr.4), Tianjin Shipping Index(TSI)released three times because of Tomb Sweeping Day holiday. Tianjin Container Freight Index (TCI) decreased and then increased. Tianjin Bulk Freight Index (TBI) kept decreasing. Tianjin Domestic Container Freight Index (TDI) increased slightly. Tianjin Shipping Index (TSI) kept decreasing. The TSI closed at 568.48 points with a decrease of 0.91% from Mar.30 (the last release day of Week 13). The TSI trend is as follows:

The chart above shows the trends of TSI from Mar.26 to Apr.4. The value of TSI in Week 14, 2018 is as follows:

II. Tianjin Container Freight Index (TCI)

In Week 14 2018 (Apr.2 to Apr.4), the TCI released three times because of the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday. The trend of TCI is as follows:

In week 14, the TCI decreased and then increased.

From Apr.2 to Apr.3 (Mon. to Tue.), the freight rates in European route, Mediterranean route, South American route and India-Pakistan route kept the decrease trend. The freight rates in North American route kept increasing. The TCI decreased slightly by 0.41% on two consecutive release days. On Mar.4 (Wed.), the decrease speed of freight rates in European route, Mediterranean route, South American route and India-Pakistan route became slower. The increase speed of freight rates in North American route became faster. The TCI increased after decreasing by 0.46% on a day on day basis.

The TCI closed at 344.17 points with an increase of 0.18 points (0.05%) from Mar.30 (the last release day of Week 13).

The TCI index value saw several up and down on a day-on-day basis are as follows:

European/Mediterranean route Cargo volume did not recover as expected. Under the pressure of more transport capacity, the plan to raise the freight rates was not achieved. This week, the freight rates kept the weak trend of later half last week, but the decrease range was narrower. The freight indices in European route, Mediterranean East route and Mediterranean West route decreased 3.29%,1.69% and 1.80% respectively this week.

North American route Many ship owners put new ships or adopted the “small for bigger” strategy to upgrade the transport capacity, which led to imbalance between supply and demand. Last month, the freight rates decreased for over 20%, therefore, there exists high possibility that the freight rates might rebound. In later half of last week, some shipping alliance raised the freight rates. This week, some other ship owners followed their steps to raise the freight rates. The freight indices in North American West Coast route and North American East Coast route increased 8.41% and 4.63% respectively this week.

South American route Cargo volume from factories kept stable. Transport overcapacity was not obviously relieved. On the market, it is the main stream that the freight rates were reduced for loading rate. The freight indices in South American West Coast route, South American East Coast route and Central South American route decreased 8.23%, 1.86% and 3.98% this week.

India-Pakistan route Demand was slack. Low density cargo was in short. The freight rates of large cabinets were reduced markedly. The freight rates kept decreasing. The freight indices decreased 3.48% on a week on week basis.

III. Tianjin Bulk Freight Index (TBI)

Week 14, 2018 (Apr.2 – Apr.4), Tianjin Bulk Freight Index (TBI) was released three times due to Qingming Festival holiday arrangement and the trend is shown as follows:

In week 14, the TBI continued to decrease.

On Apr.2 (Mon.), the freight rates of coal and grain kept stable and the freight rate of mineral ore decreased significantly, which led to a day-on-day TBI decrease of 0.84%. Then, the freight rates of coal and grain decreased slightly and the decrease of the freight rate of mineral ore narrowed. TBI decreased 0.23% on Apr.3 (Tue.).

On Apr.4 (Wed.), the decrease of the freight rates of coal and mineral ore extended. TBI ended at 752.75 points with a decrease of 17.19 points (2.23%) from Mar.30 (the last release day of week 13).

TBI index value saw several ups and downs on a day-on-day basis, which is shown as follows:

TBCI kept decreasing this week. TBCI ended at 646.04 points with a decrease of 10.71 points (1.63%) from Mar.30 (the last release day of week 13). The market was gloomy before the Qingming holiday and the decline of domestic coal price restrained imports. Then, the freight rate continued to decrease. For the Panamax market, the freight rate of the DBCT to Tianjin route decreased about 2%. For the Capesize market, the freight rate of Hay Point to Qingdao route kept decreasing this week and the total decrease was over 1%.

TBGI decreased slightly this week. It ended at 703.98 points with a decrease of 1.30 points (0.18%) from Mar.30 (the last release day of week 13). Cargos in Atlantic market decreased and the ship-owner’s ability of holding the price reduced. Then the freight rate decreased slightly. The freight rate of South America to Tianjin route decreased over 0.2%. The freight rate of US Gulf to Tianjin route decreased over 0.1%. The freight rate in the Pacific market decreased more. The freight rate of West America to Tianjin route decreased 0.3%.

TBMI continued to decrease this week. It ended at 908.24 points with a decrease of 39.56 points (4.17%) from Mar.30 (the last release day of week 13). For the iron ore market, under the influence of holiday, the iron ore market was not active and shipping demand reduced. The freight rate decreased further. The freight rate of West Australia to North China decreased about 5.5%. The freight rate of Brazil to Tianjin route decreased over 3.5%. As for nickel ore, the shipment of nickel ore in the Philippines was active but the Handysize market was weak as a whole. The freight rate of Surigao to Tianjin route decreased over 0.6%.

IV. Tianjin Domestic Container Freight Index (TDI)

Only three days (Apr.02-Apr.04) of Tianjin Domestic Container Freight Index (TDI) updates because of Tomb Sweeping Day in Week 14. The trend is shown in the chart below.

The TDI in Week 14 got a slight rise.

On Apr.02 (Mon.), the Inward Index and the Outward Index kept steady, which made the TDI remained stable. From Apr.03 (Tues.) to Apr.04 (Wed.), both the Inward Index and the Outward Index slowly went up, so the TDI increased slightly. Finally, the TDI was closed at 780.05 points, with a growth of 1.65 points (0.21%), compared with that on Mar.30 (the last release day of Week 13).

The value of TDI ups and downs on a day-on-day basis is shown as follows:

Tianjin Domestic Container Outward Freight Index (TDOI) experienced a rise in stability this week. It was closed at 921.83 points on Apr.04 (Wed.), increasing 2.57 points (0.28%) compared with that on Mar.30 (the last release day of Week 13). In detail, the freight rate index of Tianjin-Guangzhou route rose 0.67%, because there was an increase in the demand of high-quality coal in southern area. On the contrary, that of Tianjin-Shanghai route declined 2.07% to ensure the loading rate of freight space. As for that of Tianjin-Quanzhou route, it continued keeping stable on a week-on-week basis.

Tianjin Domestic Container Inward Freight Index (TDII) went up a bit this week, eventually being closed at 638.27 points on Apr.04, with an increase of 0.73 points (0.11%), compared with that on Mar.30 (the last release day of Week 13). This week, the construction and decoration market started to recover, bringing increasing demand for building materials, ceramic tiles and PVC pines, which was further favorable for the transport market. Thus, it is reasonable that the freight rate indices of three routes overall went better this week, that of Guangzhou-Tianjin rising 0.17%, and that of Shanghai-Tianjin and Quanzhou-Tianjin route remaining steady.

Source from : Tianjin Shipping Index

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