In July 2026, China's container shipping market maintained a stable and improving trend. Freight rates on ocean shipping routes continued to rise, driving the composite index to climb further. According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs, exports in June surged by 27% year-on-year in US dollar terms, the strongest growth since October 2021; exports in the first half of the year rose by 17.6% year-on-year, hitting a historical high in scale. This indicates that China's foreign trade is maintaining a sound operation momentum, which is conducive to the stable development of China's export container shipping market. In July 2026, the average value of the China Export Container Composite Freight Index released by the (preparatory) Shanghai Shipping Exchange Research Institute was 1870.66 points, an average increase of 20.7% month-on-month; the average value of the Shanghai Export Container Composite Index reflecting the spot market was 3172.19 points, an average increase of 5.1% month-on-month.

1. Port container throughput maintains steady growth, and the ship leasing market sees a slight rise in performance

①In June 2026, China's container throughput maintained a steady growth trend. According to statistics, the national port container throughput reached 31.27 million TEU in June 2026, an increase of 3.0% compared with the same period last year. Among them, coastal ports completed a container throughput of 27.47 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%; inland river ports completed a container throughput of 3.8 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%.

(2) The container charter market continued its growth momentum, but with a small increase. According to Clarkson's statistics, in July 2026, the charter rates for 1000TEU, 2750TEU, 4250TEU, and 9000TEU vessels rose by 0.1%, 0.9%, 0.1%, and 0.1% respectively compared with the previous month.

2. The ‌Europe–Mediterranean route continues to rise

As for the ‌Europe–Mediterranean route, statistics show that in US dollar terms, China's exports to the EU in June 2026 increased by 18.5% year-on-year, with the growth rate rising month-on-month compared to May. The EU continued to be China's second-largest export market, accounting for 14.1% of the country's total exports. This indicates that Sino-EU trade has maintained rapid growth, providing long-term support to the transportation market for the China-Europe route. In addition, the Eurozone's composite PMI rose to 51.9 in July, returning to the expansion range. However, as the situation between the US and Iran escalates again, oil and gas prices are under new pressure, and inflation and supply chain risks may weaken the recovery momentum of Europe's economy in the future. At the beginning of this month, transportation demand was generally stable, and market freight rates continued to rise, after which the booking prices in the spot market fell from their highs. In July 2026, the average values of China's export freight rate indices to Europe and the Mediterranean routes were 2439.40 points and 3133.29 points respectively, up 27.9% and 25.1% on average from the previous month respectively; the average market freight rates for exports from Shanghai Port to basic ports in Europe and the Mediterranean reflecting the spot market were 3232 US dollars/TEU and 4459 US dollars/TEU respectively, up 6.2% and 5.3% month-on-month from the previous month respectively.

3. North American Market: Falls First, Then Rises

For the North America route, according to data released by S&P Global, the initial value of the U.S. Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in July rose to 53.6, which was better than market expectations. Driven by World Cup matches and Independence Day celebrations, the service sector rebounded significantly, pushing the composite PMI to an eight-month high. However, festival consumption only provided a short-term boost. As the situation in the Middle East escalated again, it may further impact the supply chain, causing the manufacturing sector's momentum to slow down and increasing the risk of economic downturn. At the same time, the Trump administration announced the launch of a new tariff system, declaring to impose tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on dozens of countries and regions in accordance with Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to replace the upcoming global import tariffs, which shows that the U.S. government continues to adopt trade protectionist policies. Earlier this month, transportation demand was relatively stable, and the spot market booking prices began to adjust after a sharp rise in the early stage, with market freight rates rebounding at the end of the month. In July 2026, the average freight index of China's exports to the U.S. West Coast and U.S. East Coast routes was 1549.35 points and 1707.93 points respectively, an increase of 30.1% and 28.2% on a month-on-month basis compared with the previous month. The average spot market freight rates for basic ports from Shanghai Port to the U.S. West Coast and U.S. East Coast, which reflect the spot market, were 6067 US dollars/FEU and 8339 US dollars/FEU respectively, up 13.4% and 26.7% month-on-month from the previous month.

4. The Persian Gulf-Red Sea route faces another test of geopolitical tensions

For the Persian Gulf and Red Sea routes, the Middle East situation has seen escalating conflicts this month, with the geopolitical situation growing increasingly tense and showing a tendency to spread to the Red Sea region. Transportation at the Strait of Hormuz is once again facing a severe situation, and market prices have fluctuated within a certain range this month. In July 2026, the average value of the China export freight index for the Persian Gulf and Red Sea routes was 3076.65 points, an average increase of 12.4% compared with the previous month; the average freight rate for the spot market's export from Shanghai Port to the basic ports in the Persian Gulf was 4467 US dollars per TEU, a decrease of 4.8% compared with the previous month.

5. The Australia-New Zealand market falls from its high

For the Australia-New Zealand route, transportation demand lacks the momentum for further growth, the fundamental supply and demand situation has weakened, and the spot market booking prices have gradually declined since the beginning of the month. In July 2026, the average value of the freight index for China's exports to the Australia-New Zealand route was 1484.80 points, an increase of 18.5% compared with the average value of the previous month.

6. Freight rates to Japan drop slightly

For the Japan route, transportation demand was basically stable, and market freight rates fell slightly. In July 2026, the average value of the freight index for China's exports to the Japan route was 942.87 points, a month-on-month decrease of 1.7% from the previous month.

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