The Port of Valencia has announced a significant drop in its export freight rates in March 2023, as the freight index has been falling constantly.
The general trend has reflected a decrease in the level of freight rates in all the areas analysed by the Valencia Containerised Freight Index (VCFI).
The VCFI again recorded a fall of 12.52 per cent in March compared to the previous month, accumulating seven consecutive months in decline to stand at 2,423.01 points.
However, since the start of the historical series in January 2018, the indicator tracking the trend and development of sea container transport costs from the Port of Valencia has shown a considerable increase of 142.30 per cent.
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Concerning the capacity on offer, data from consultancy firm Alphaliner show that the idle fleet has decreased compared to the previous month.
In mid-March, 122 vessels were idle for a total of 721,333 TEU (83,429 TEU less than the last accounting at the end of February), representing 2.8 per cent of the total active fleet.
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As far as port congestion is concerned, according to the latest conclusions of the ‘Port and Terminals Insight’ report by the British consultancy Drewry, clear signs of improvement continue to be evident.
Overall, at the end of March, 503 vessels were at anchorage, reaching 2,071,636 TEU, which represented 7.94 per cent of the total container fleet.
This announcement comes several months after the Port of Valencia committed $1.64 billion to a new container terminal.
