• In the ninth month of the year, the VCFI stood at 2,097.74 points, up +6.59% on the previous month and accumulating a growth of +17.87% since the beginning of the year
  • According to the September VCFI Commentary, ‘European economies, especially in the Eurozone, face structural challenges that could impact trade and shipping in the coming months’
  • The Index shows an increase of +9.31% in the Western Mediterranean area and a fall of -9.49% in the Far East (both compared to the previous month)

València, 4 October 2024.- The Valencia Containerised Freight Index (VCFI) for the month of September is up again. This price index, which is based on the export prices recorded by the Port of Valencia in 13 geographical areas around the world, has reached 2,097.74 points, which represents a monthly growth of +6.59% and an accumulated growth since the beginning of the year of +17.87%.

In an environment marked by geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, the shipping industry faces challenges that affect trade routes and raise operating costs: ‘the deterioration in the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicates that European economies, especially in the Eurozone, face structural challenges that could impact trade and shipping in the coming months. Although container throughput is showing signs of recovery in some regions, the overall picture remains uncertain,’ the Commentary notes.

In addition, the VCFI Commentary provides seasonally adjusted data from the RWI/ISL container throughput index which has shown ‘a moderate improvement in global traffic, rising to 134.4 points in September. Chinese ports experienced slight growth, from 146.5 to 149.7 points, while Europe saw a more marked recovery after the drop in July’.

The forecast for October, with Golden Week in Asia – which involves factory closures and a reduction in container traffic to and from Asia – is for shipping lines to adjust capacity with the expected cancellation of routes. This, the Commentary notes, ‘adds a new level of uncertainty to the industry’.

Geographical Areas

The variation in the index value in September (+6.59%) is unevenly distributed over the time horizon of the data, as well as in the geographical areas that make up the index. In this sense, the Western Mediterranean sub-index has experienced a growth of +9.31% with respect to the previous month, standing at 2,337.69 points. On the other hand, in the Far East area, a reduction of -9.49% was recorded, reaching 1,997.89 points.