- The València Containerised Freight Index (VCFI) – which measures the behaviour and evolution of the cost of container transport by sea from the Valencian precinct – stood at 1,211.97 points in August. It remains, therefore, at similar levels to the first half of 2020
- The downward trend in Far East freight rates has moderated, falling by only 3% in the last month.
- Overall, shipping continues to contract in 2023 – reflecting what is happening with international trade – and the cost of bunkering (the supply of fuel to ships at sea) in the world’s top 20 ports has risen by 8.30% compared to July
- The Western Mediterranean area is down again by -13.20% although the volume of exports from the Port of València to Algeria and Tunisia has increased
València, 8 September 2023 – Export freight rates from the Port of València have moderated their fall but continue to fall. In the month of August, the cost of sea transport from the Valencian enclosure fell by 6.78% with respect to July and stood at 1,211.97 points. This is reflected in the València Containerised Freight Index (VCFI) – which measures the trend and evolution of freight from the Valencian precinct – which remains at similar levels to the first half of 2020. The VCFI accumulates a growth since the beginning of the historical series in January 2018 of 21.20%.
The downward trend in export freight rates from Valenciaport’s docks to the Far East area has also moderated, showing signs of stabilisation -3% compared to the -18.92% recorded in July this year. Along the same lines, the València Containerised Freight Index shows a moderate fall in the index with the Middle East (-12.19%) and also with the Western Mediterranean (-13.20%) but a significant fall in the areas of Latin America Atlantic (-20.44%).
In this sense, the behaviour of world trade, which continues to fall, continues to be marked by the slowdown in the international economic recovery – growth weighed down by high inflation and indebtedness – and, in parallel, transport prices are also falling. On the other hand, for the first time in the last six months, the price of bunkering (the supply of fuel to ships at sea) has risen in the 20 most important ports of the world, experiencing an increase of 8.30% in comparison with July.
VCFI Western Mediterranean
As regards the Western Mediterranean sub-index, a downward oscillation has again been observed decreasing by -13.20%, reaching 1,417.71 points, representing a cumulative growth of 41.77% since the beginning of the series in 2018.
However, as far as Valenciaport is concerned, a decrease has been observed in the volume of exports to Morocco and, on the contrary, an increase in the volume of foreign sales to Tunisia and Algeria, which have increased compared to July.
VCFI Far East
As for the Far East area it shows signs of stabilisation and a moderate fall of -3% has been recorded reaching 920.96 points. This represents a decrease of -7.90% since the beginning of the series in January 2018. In parallel, export levels from Valenciaport to China, which is the main trading partner, have experienced downward fluctuations according to the latest available data.