With the constantly changing freight rates and uncertain market conditions, a trader has to be active in cutting costs and channelizing his resources to make the most of his deals! This fluctuation leads to the prevalent notion that traders cannot earn a constant profit from the market. In such a scenario, the traders plan their freight shipments well ahead of time. And for doing so, the container index can be a helpful tool. But we already know about the types of containers, then what is this index for? Well, let us understand its meaning and have a loot at the recent trends.
Container Index: A Reflection of Demand Statistics
The container prices and shipping freight rates keep changing constantly. During the peak season of the year, the demand for containers is high. But with a limited supply of containers and shipping vessels, the prices can rise thrice the regular rates. The container index delivers the frequent, updated and independent data of the container market. By following the latest trends and fluctuations in this index, one can easily assess the prevailing trading pattern. This assessment can help one plan his freight shipments actively without compromising with the quality of service.
Following the world shipping container indices, one can stay ahead in the business race.
The index is available in numerical, graphical and percentage values for a better understanding of the subject. Since the concerned authorities, shipping companies, and regulators keep publishing the market trends, it is not a tedious task to have a look at the recent data. This index may not be much familiar to the budding traders in the industry, but the experienced ones know its significance very well. All one has to do is observe the graph, comprehend the possible scenario and then plan his future shipments accordingly!
Meaning and Significance of Recent Container Index Highlights
The world container indices serve a lot more than mere data to the traders who know how to make the most of it! More than importers, it is crucial for the exporters to know about it well ahead of time. This pursuit will keep them ahead of their competitors in making business strategies.
- As the index is published on global websites offering open access to all the companies, individual entities and organisations, it brings transparency to the market mechanism. There is no passage through which a shipper can misuse his position by giving out the wrong data or information to the traders.
- The container index offers a detailed view of the weekly assessment of container freight rates and costs across different shipping lines, a record of all the historical price movements and a daily price estimation as well! The traders can use this information to assess the market conditions and plan their lined-up shipments by booking the container services.
- After assessing the index, the exporters can also use it to their advantage by setting the best future price in their export quotation or Proforma invoice. The better the price, the higher are the chances of an exporter to crack the deal!
- With the container indices, the traders get the opportunity to discover future price rates and master risk management. This facility was not available to them before publishing the index. All one has to do is learn how to assess the index properly with the right judgement.
- The importance of the container index is especially for those traders who are new in the industry and trying to expand their chain of supply by roping in importers across the world. By giving out the best prices without compromising with the profit margin, they can grow stronger in this arena.
The Recent Highlights of January 2021
- After the second week of January, the composite index has shown no major improvement or change.
- There has been a fall in the weekly indices of Shanghai-Rotterdam (-1%), New York-Rotterdam (-4%), Rotterdam-New York (-3%). Traders have not received any positive response from these routes.
- The Shanghai-New York route registered the highest rise of 6% in the index as per the weekly analysis. This route mostly observes rush and a shortage of containers.
- Apart from these major shipping routes, the weekly report has not registered any change in the other major lines. For instance, Shanghai-Los Angeles, Rotterdam-Shanghai, Los Angeles – Shanghai and Shanghai-Genoa are the shipping lines with zero changes in the weekly index.
If one is not comfortable with the numerical and wants to observe the trend at a glance, graphical representations are also available on reliable websites. However, speaking of following the container index trends, one must always opt for a trustworthy source. A piece of wrong information can mislead a trade into making decisions that do not yield intended profits! Therefore, always pt for shipping blogs and news articles of well-known firms and companies in the business. Go through the trends and make the most of the available information by planning freight shipments ahead of time!
