The History of the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI)

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) is a highly cited metric used to discuss the health of global trade. In the past 30 days alone, news outlets and industry journals have published over 100 articles referencing the SCFI. Carriers, such as global shipping giant Maersk, have referenced the SCFI in their annual reports since the index’s inception.

Aside from the fact that it’s cited frequently by major media outlets, what makes the SCFI so important? What real world impact does it have on exporters and importers? How does it differ from the similarly popular China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI)?

Creating A More Efficient Market

Created by the Chinese government in 2005, the SCFI was intended to address a few distinct needs within the market.

First, the government wanted a simple index of prices to help attract more buyers and sellers to local markets. By aggregating the movement of several market securities into one easy-to-read benchmark, an index can help efficiently match supply and demand by communicating the health of a market. The SCFI moves up and down based on the spot rates of the Shanghai export container transport market based on data compiled from 15 different shipping routes.

The second purpose of the SCFI was to provide a platform upon which merchants and shippers could shield their businesses against peaks and valleys in market prices. “One major purpose behind the SCFI was to help create a derivatives market to better offset industry risks,” says Gordon Downes, CEO of the New York Shipping Exchange.

Past Economic Events and Risk Management

A derivatives market for Shanghai freight prices would go a long way in enabling trade in the region. By buying derivatives that guarantee a certain price for freight, buyers and sellers could eliminate uncertainty, making it easier to invest in their businesses.

One such moment was in 2008 when the European Union repealed EC Regulation No. 4056/86, ending the anti-trust immunity that many groups of shipping lines had long enjoyed. Previously, shipping companies could legally fix prices and coordinate capacity on trade lanes. Since the repeal, fierce competition has created persistent volatility.

Currently, the ocean freight market is in a freefall, down 50% in just 12 months. Indeed, in the history of humankind the price of ocean freight has never been lower. “Carriers haven’t collectively made a profit since 2010,” says Mike Wackett.

The Underdeveloped Derivatives Market

With the creation of the SCFI, exporters and shipping companies finally had a reliable metric to trade derivatives against, which in theory would allow them to mitigate the extreme volatility mentioned earlier. While this was one of the primary goals behind the index’s creation, a derivatives market never got off the ground.

Backlash from the industry’s major players doomed the process from its infancy. Many carriers worry that a derivatives market would quickly be overrun by speculators. Today, the SCFI is mainly used as a backwards-looking barometer for the markets health.

An Important, Albeit Imperfect System

The SCFI failed at creating a proper derivatives market, but that hasn’t stopped industry analysts from tracking it closely. Important to remember that the SCFI is limited to a much narrower scope than nearly every other freight index: it only tracks exports (not imports) from a single market (Shanghai) and it relies upon weekly spot rates, which can deviate from long-term contract rates. By comparison, roughly 75% of the global market actually runs on contracted rates.

SCFI: What It Measures, What It Misses, How to Use It

The SCFI is a weekly spot-rate index for container exports from Shanghai, published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange since its 2009 reissue — a clean market thermometer with three blind spots that most headlines ignore.

Quick answer: Treat the SCFI as direction and velocity, never as your price; contract holders especially should watch blank-sailing announcements instead of the weekly print.

You are…	How to read an SCFI move	What NOT to do with it
A spot shipper	Direct signal — your next booking tracks the index closely	Don’t extrapolate one week into a year
A contract holder	Weak signal — your rate barely moves; watch capacity actions instead	Don’t panic-renew on a spike
An analyst/planner	Directional input combined with CCFI, capacity data, and demand indicators	Don’t cite it as “what shippers pay”

Questions buyers actually ask

• What exactly does SCFI measure? — Volume-weighted spot freight rates for containerized exports from Shanghai across major routes, released weekly (Fridays).
• Why do headlines misread it? — It covers Shanghai exports only, spot only, and roughly three-quarters of global trade moves on contract rates — so index moves exaggerate what most shippers actually pay.
• SCFI or CCFI — which matters to me? — Spot buyers track SCFI; contract-heavy shippers find CCFI’s blended basis closer to their reality.

Watch out: Sources variously describe the composite as 13 or 15 routes depending on composition period; verify against the SSE official page before quoting composition details.

Useful next steps on this site: the index applied to this month’s market · from index signal to your estimate · lane-level view beneath the index

Sources checked 2026-08-25 including SSE — Official SCFI Page. Rates and timelines change — always confirm with a current quotation.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does SCFI measure?

Volume-weighted spot freight rates for containerized exports from Shanghai across major routes, released weekly.

Why do headlines misread it?

It covers Shanghai exports only, spot only — and roughly three-quarters of global trade moves on contract rates.

SCFI or CCFI — which matters to me?

Spot buyers track SCFI; contract-heavy shippers find CCFI’s blended basis closer to their paid reality.

Reviewed by Googol Traders Operations Team · Sources checked 2026-08-25

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does SCFI measure?

Volume-weighted spot freight rates for containerized exports from Shanghai across major routes, released weekly.

Why do headlines misread it?

It covers Shanghai exports only, spot only — and roughly three-quarters of global trade moves on contract rates.

SCFI or CCFI — which matters to me?

Spot buyers track SCFI; contract-heavy shippers find CCFI’s blended basis closer to their paid reality.

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