In April 2026, the military conflict in the Middle East temporarily reached a ceasefire agreement, and there were signs of easing geopolitical tensions, but the future situation still faces significant uncertainties. The Chinese export container transport market has stabilized, with different routes showing some differentiation in performance due to their respective fundamental differences, and the comprehensive index continues to rise. In April 2026, the average value of the China Export Container Transport Comprehensive Index published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange was 1221.80 points, up 11.4% on average from the previous month; the average value of the Shanghai Export Container Transport Comprehensive Index, reflecting the spot market, was 1883.78 points, up 11.9% on average from the previous month. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, in terms of US dollars, China's exports in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 14.7% year-on-year. China's foreign trade maintained a good start in 2026, which will play a long-term supporting role for the stable development of the Chinese export container transport market.

1. The port container throughput continues to grow, and the ship chartering market is stable and improving.

①From January to March 2026, China's container throughput continued to grow, and the operation of major ports was stable and improving. According to statistics, in March 2026, the national ports completed a container throughput of 30.87 million TEU, an increase of 4.7% over the same period last year. Among them, the coastal ports completed a container throughput of 27.18 million TEU, an increase of 5.3% over the same period last year; the inland ports completed a container throughput of 3.69 million TEU, a slight increase of 0.1% over the same period last year.

②The container charter market has been stable and improving, with the market rent for all types of ships showing an upward trend. According to Clarkson's statistics, in April 2026, the rent for 1000TEU, 2750TEU, 4250TEU, 6500TEU, and 9000TEU ships increased by 1.5%, 0.2%, 7.0%, 1.4%, and 0.8% respectively compared to the previous month.

2. The European and Mediterranean market has declined

The European-Mediterranean route, according to data released by S&P Global, the April composite PMI of the eurozone fell to 48.6, below market expectations, reaching the lowest level since November 2024. In addition, the eurozone's March year-on-year CPI rose by 2.5%, the highest level since January 2025, and the largest monthly increase since 2022. The energy shock triggered by the Middle East war has brought stronger upward pressure on inflation in the eurozone, and if the energy crisis lasts for a longer time, it will weaken the momentum of European economic growth, and the future of the European economy is facing a test. This month, the transport market of the European-Mediterranean route has become stable, the transport demand has remained stable, and the spot market booking price has generally shown a downward trend. In April 2026, the average value of the China-Europe, Mediterranean route freight rate index was 1572.11 points and 1993.20 points, respectively, an increase of 7.4% and 8.6% from the previous month; The average value of the Shanghai Port export to Europe and the Mediterranean basic port market freight rate reflecting the spot market was $1543/TEU and $2523/TEU, respectively, a decrease of 3.7% and 4.6% from the previous month.

3. The North American market continues to rise

The North American route, according to data released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the U.S. manufacturing PMI rose to 52.7 in March, although the expansion momentum reached a new high in three years, the raw material costs synchronously surged, and the inflationary pressure rapidly accumulated, mainly due to the severe interference in the transportation of oil and other key manufacturing materials caused by geopolitical conflicts. In addition, the U.S. PPI increased by 4% year-on-year in March, reaching the highest level since February 2023, and the price indicators at the production end continue to accelerate, showing signs of sustained strengthening of the risk of price pressure being passed on to prices in the coming months, and the U.S. economy will face the test of slowing growth and rising inflation. This month, overall transport demand remained stable, supply and demand relations remained balanced, and market freight rates continued to rise. In April 2026, the average freight rate index for China's exports to the U.S. West Coast and East Coast routes was 872.45 points and 997.04 points, respectively, an average increase of 7.1% and 9.4% compared to the previous month; the average freight rate index for the Shanghai Port export to the U.S. West Coast and East Coast basic ports in the spot market was $2,566/FEU and $3,543/FEU, respectively, an increase of 19.4% and 18.0% compared to the previous month.

4. The freight rate on the Persian Gulf-Red Sea region container shipping route first increased and then decreased.

For the Persian Gulf-Red Sea region container shipping route, although a cease - fire agreement has been temporarily reached in the military conflict in the Middle East, and the geopolitical tensions have eased slightly, there are still no signs of the resumption of transportation in the Strait of Hormuz. The transportation market of this route will still face great uncertainties in the future. The market freight rate continued to rise this month, but the booking price in the spot market showed a downward trend in the second half of the month. In April 2026, the average value of the freight rate index for China's exports to the Bohong route was 1905.10 points, an increase of 39.3% compared with the average of the previous month. The average value of the market freight rate for Shanghai Port's exports to the basic ports in the Persian Gulf, which reflects the spot market, was $4013/TEU, an increase of 27.8% compared with the average of the previous month.

5. The Australia and New Zealand market stabilizes and rebounds.

For the Australia and New Zealand route, the transportation demand is growing steadily, the supply - demand fundamentals are improving, and the market freight rates have stabilized and rebounded. In April 2026, the average value of the freight rate index for China's exports to the Australia and New Zealand route was 953.83 points, an increase of 4.6% compared with the average of the previous month.

6. Japan freight rates decline slightly

Japan route, transport demand basically stable, market freight rates slightly down. In April 2026, the average index of the China export to Japan route freight rate was 948.98 points, down 0.6% from the previous month's average.

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