<p><b>Imports & Exports</b> <br>The biggest driver in the fall of the global XSI was the sub-index for US imports. </p>
The biggest driver in the fall of the global XSI® was the sub-index for US imports. The index fell from 451.5 points in April to 268.0 in May, a drop of 40.6%. Since this index peaked in October 2022 at 590.9 points it has declined by 54.6%.
Compared to a year ago, the average price of new long-term contracts signed between the Far East and the US West Coast has fallen by 76%, or in dollar terms USD 6 140 per FEU.
US imports have been hard hit in the first quarter of the year. Total imports into North America are down by 21.1% in Q1, while those specifically from the Far East are down 25.9%.
Carriers have tried to prevent the collapse in freight rates with the removal of capacity across the Transpacific, blanking sailings or restructuring the services they offer. This is the exact opposite of what we were seeing in 2021 and into 2022, when carriers were adding as many extra services as they could, chasing the high freight rates. Compared to the start of 2021, capacity offered in the first four and a half months of the year is down by 17.3%.
The XSI® for US exports stands out as being the only sub-index to post month-on-month growth in May. It grew by 5.1% to 152.8 points. Despite this increase, it is still the trade with the second lowest growth compared to January 2017 (baseline for the XSI). Furthermore, given its status as the backhaul to a very unbalanced trade, May’s increase is not something that will create a significant impact on the carriers’ bottom lines.
The fall of the global XSI was primarily driven by the sub-index for US imports.
The US import index dropped from 451.5 points in April to 268.0 in May, a decline of 40.6%.
Since its peak in October 2022 at 590.9 points, the US import index has declined by 54.6%
The average price of new long-term contracts between the Far East and the US West Coast has fallen by 76% compared to a year ago, equivalent to USD 6,140 per FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit)
The XSI for US exports stands out as being the only sub-index to post month-on-month growth in May. It grew by 5.1% to 152.8 points. Despite this increase it is still the trade with the second lowest growth compared to January 2017 (baseline for the XSI). Furthermore, given its status as the backhaul to a very unbalanced trade, May’s increase is not something that will create significant impact on the carriers’ bottom lines.