On 1 October 2026, Commercial Times (工商时报) reported that the Shanghai Shipping Exchange's SCFI quoted 3,662.3 points on 30 September, down 24.32 points or 0.66% week on week. That marked a second consecutive weekly decline as China's National Day Golden Week holiday began and rigid demand softened.
Lane prints stayed split. Shanghai to US West Coast rose $115 to $7,578 per FEU (+1.54%). Shanghai to US East Coast rose $31 to $10,528 (+0.3%). Shanghai to Europe fell $169 to $3,378 (-4.76%), and Shanghai to the Mediterranean fell $145 to $3,771 (-3.7%). The paper noted September's weekly SCFI average was about 3,657 (roughly +8% month on month), with Q3's weekly average about 3,407 (roughly +46% to +48% quarter on quarter), driven mainly by elevated US-lane rates.
Operational color for buyers: USEC spot above $10,000 per FEU (beyond Red Sea-crisis highs in the paper's framing) drew Chinese official scrutiny of high freight. Carriers paused late-September China market general rate increase plans and moved to a wait-and-see stance, with China-origin USEC market levels about $10,500-$10,900 per FEU. Separately, the US-China trade truce extension to 10 January next year and planned mutual tariff cuts on about $30 billion of non-sensitive goods each way were described as modestly positive for booking confidence, though forwarders expect only a medium-to-small volume lift until domestic procedures finish and rates take effect.