China ports container volume rises 18.1% from January to April 2021, Ningbo Containerized Freight Index rises in May

From January to April 2021, the cargo volume of China ports was 4897.3 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 16.6%; the container throughput of China ports was 89.5million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 18.1%. The chart below shows the cargo throughput and container throughput data of the eight major ports in China.

Source：Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China

In terms of container freight rates, the average value of the Ningbo Container Freight index (NCFI)[1] in May was quotes 2770.2 points, have an increase of 18.2% compare to last month. From Ningbo to the North America route, the average slot utilization rate of this trade lane remained fully loaded, and the overall space condition was tight. Some carrier planned to start the second round of rising freight rate in the middle of the month. The average freight rate of 40GP from Ningbo Port to Los Angeles port in May was $4549, have an increase of 13.1% compare to last month, from Ningbo Port to New York port was $5719, increase of 12.0% month-on-month.

[1] Remark：Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) is used to objectively reflect the fluctuation of freight rates of international container shipping market by calculating and recording the container freight rates change information of 21 routes departing from Ningbo-Zhoushan port, including composite Index and 21 Indexes of branch routes.