The Shanghai Shipping Exchange has formally introduced seven additional container freight benchmarks covering major international trade lanes, along with an updated contract framework enabling shipping companies and cargo owners to link freight payments to published indices.
The new components of the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) were unveiled at the North Bund International Shipping Forum on October 20.
The new benchmarks include 20-foot container freight rates from Shanghai to East Africa, Central and South America, and India and Pakistan. Four additional indices track 40-foot container rates to Europe, the Mediterranean, South America, and Central and South America.
The seven indices had previously been published on a trial basis. The East Africa and Central and South America 20-foot benchmarks began trial publication in January 2025, while the remaining five components followed in May 2026. Their formal introduction marks the transition from trial publication to official benchmarks.
The exchange has also revised its index-linked container service contract template for 2026, expanding the range of container sizes and freight indices that parties can use to calculate contractual payments.
The updated framework is intended to provide shipping lines, cargo owners and financial institutions with more detailed and transparent pricing references for negotiating freight agreements and settling payments.
The Shanghai Shipping Exchange introduced its original index-linked container contract template in 2023 to enable parties to use published freight rates as a reference when establishing commercial arrangements. The framework was designed to reduce uncertainty over future transportation costs and provide a common basis for agreements between carriers and their customers.
With the formalisation of the seven additional benchmarks, the exchange is expanding the availability of standardised freight pricing references across key international trade lanes amid continued volatility in container shipping markets.