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 September 1, 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.
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.
