XSI® Far East
Index falls to lowest level since February 2022 despite a record August for containerized exports out of the region
The index for exports out of the Far East fell by 6.9% in October to 152.8 points. This is a 75.1% drop from a year ago, and the lowest this index has been since January 2021.
This is despite a pick-up in containerized exports out of the region, with the latest data showing a record 5.2 million TEU in August. However, even allowing for a record August, total exports for the year remain down by 1.5%.
The index for imports into the Far East fell to 108.8 points in October, 6.2% lower than September.
With long term rates just 8.8% higher than the start of 2017 (the base period for this index), this is the lowest any sub-indices of the XSI® has been for two years.
As with Far East exports, imports into the region also posted their highest ever month in August, totalling 0.9 million TEU. Unlike the year-to-date drop in exports, the record month for imports also contributes to an increase of 10.8% so far in 2023.
Though these higher volumes will be welcomed by carriers, their impact on the overall market is much lower than if it were exports that were growing.
This is because the backhaul trades have plenty of capacity to deal with increasing import volumes.
