World Container Index (WCI) to launch in September

News Release World Container Index July 18, 2011

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London, July 18, 2011. Drewry Shipping
Consultants and The Cleartrade Exchange have announced that the World Container
Index (WCI), the first Europe-based assessment of container freight rates and
index production, is scheduled for launch in September 2011. 
The index will provide a new and important facility for the global market to
hedge their freight rate risk and see major improvements in forward price
discovery through the container derivatives market. 
Significantly, the new index will be the first of its kind to report weekly
freight rates on backhaul as well as headhaul routes and will provide increased
efficiencies in hedging strategies for freight users dealing in bulk,
commoditised and recovered cargoes. During July and August the index will be
made available to a small number of lead organisations for final testing and
feedback prior to launch for trading on 1st September, 2011.

Contracts will be available with at least one clearing house at or soon after
the launch date and subscriptions to the index will be available from
22nd August, 2011. 
Richard Heath of the WCI says: 
"We are pleased to announce this important step in the process of bringing a
viable, tradable container index to market. We are now working with a number of
parties on final feedback to ensure that we deliver a product which is tailored
to the requirements of the market. Interest in the potential of the WCI has been
very encouraging and we already have a number of pre-orders for subscriptions."

The WCI reports agreed spot container freight rates for major East West trade
routes and consists of 11 route-specific indices representing individual
shipping routes and a composite index. 
Route Assessments 
The WCI has also confirmed that it will collect and publish weekly market
assessments for the following routes: 
Shanghai to Rotterdam; Rotterdam to Shanghai; Shanghai to Genoa; Genoa to
Shanghai; Shanghai to Los Angeles; Los Angeles to Shanghai; Shanghai to New
York; New York to Rotterdam; Rotterdam to New York; Los Angeles to Rotterdam and
Rotterdam to Los Angeles. 
Methodology 
The WCI assessments are reports of the value of agreed freight rates between
major container lines and shippers or freight forwarders. Only freight rates
that are agreed between participants and on which cargo is, or is expected to
move will form the assessments. Rates for quotes, tariffs, estimates, bids or
offers are excluded. Rates are collected from organisations based in Asia,
Europe and North America. 
The rates reported by the index are spot rates with a validity of seven days
to one calendar month from the date the assessment is reported. Agreed freight
rates are to be reported in USD per Forty Foot Equivalent Unit (FEU), equivalent
to a 40ft-long 8ft 6in-high ISO maritime container as a Full Container Load.

The value of agreed freight rates is defined as the total ocean freight
including bunker adjustment factor and all other applicable surcharges, plus
terminal handling charges when it is common market practice to include them, but
excluding any surcharges related to inland transportation.

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