Report Industry Investment Rating No relevant information provided. Core View of the Report - The shipping index (European Line) showed a volatile trend yesterday. The main 2510 contract closed at 1420.4 points, down 0.98%, with a reduction of 765 lots; the second main 2512 contract closed at 1763.2 points, up 0.21%, with an increase of 179 lots; the near - month 2508 contract closed at 2072.7 points, down 0.37%. Overall, from a monthly - level perspective, September is likely to see a double - reduction in supply and demand, but the current estimated decline in shipping capacity may be less than that in demand, and the fundamentals are expected to face further pressure. Strategically, hold short positions on the 10 contract as appropriate, and add positions at high levels as appropriate, with the upper resistance level referring to 1450 - 1500 points [7][10]. Summary by Related Content 1. Fundamental Data of Shipping Index (European Line) - **Futures Contracts**: EC2508 closed at 2072.7, down 0.37%, with 216 trades and 3,579 open interests, a decrease of 121; EC2510 closed at 1420.4, down 0.98%, with 26,142 trades and 53,596 open interests, a decrease of 765; EC2512 closed at 1763.2, up 0.21%, with 4,400 trades and 9,760 open interests, an increase of 179 [1]. - **Freight Index**: SCFIS European route was 2,297.86 points, down 0.8%; SCFIS US - West route was 1,130.12 points, down 12.0%; SCFI European route was $2,051/TEU, down 1.9%; SCFI US - West route was $2,021/FEU, down 2.2% [1]. - **Spot Freight**: Different alliances' freight rates showed a downward trend. In a neutral scenario, the market FAK freight rate center at the end of August is expected to be in the range of $2,500 - 2,600/FEU [8]. - **Exchange Rate**: The US dollar index was 98.23, and the US dollar against the offshore RMB was 7.18 [1]. 2. Supply - Side Fundamentals - **August**: The weekly shipping capacity was revised down from 32.8 to 32.5 TEU/week. The average weekly capacity in the first half - month (weeks 32 - 33) was 320,000 TEU, and in the second half - month (weeks 34 - 35) was 329,000 TEU. The cargo - collection pressure in the second half - month is relatively greater [9]. - **September**: The number of undetermined voyages decreased by 1 to 3, and the number of blank sailings increased by 2 to 4. The average weekly capacity was revised down from 31.8 to 30.8 TEU/week. The current September capacity is lower than August's 325,000 TEU/week, higher than July's 301,000 TEU/week, and similar to April's 313,000 TEU/week [9]. 3. Demand - Side Fundamentals - Since mid - August, the overall market cargo volume has shown a mild downward trend, and the subsequent decline rate needs to be observed [9]. 4. Macro News - Zelensky stated that the initiative to end the Russia - Ukraine conflict lies in Russia, and Ukraine is preparing a series of meetings in Europe to promote the peace process [6]. - South African President Ramaphosa held talks with Russian President Putin to discuss the Ukraine peace process [6]. 5. Trend Intensity - The trend intensity of the shipping index (European Line) is - 1, indicating a relatively bearish outlook [11].

Report Industry Investment Rating No relevant content provided. Core Viewpoints - The shipping company's prices are adjusted frequently. Attention should be paid to whether Maersk's WEEK34 prices will be revised again. The freight rate has entered a downward cycle, and the prices of different alliances are following the decline. There are different characteristics and risks for different contract months, and corresponding investment strategies are proposed [1][4][5]. - The 2025 is still a big year for container ship deliveries, and the monthly and weekly average capacities of China - European base ports in August and September vary, with additional overtime ships added by Maersk and OA Alliance [3][7]. Summary by Directory 1. Market Analysis - Online quotes for different shipping companies on the Shanghai - Rotterdam route show price fluctuations. For example, Maersk's WEEK32 - 34 quotes for Shanghai - Rotterdam decreased from 1846/3102 to 1590/2660, and different shipping companies' quotes for different time periods also have differences [1]. 2. Geopolitical Situation - Russian President Putin had a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, discussing the Middle East situation, and Russia reiterated its stance on resolving regional issues through peaceful means [2]. 3. Shipping Capacity - The monthly average weekly capacity of China - European base ports in August is 347,300 TEU, and in September is 297,100 TEU. There are 4 empty sailings in August (all from the OA Alliance) and 2 TBNs in September. Maersk added 2 overtime ships in August, and the OA Alliance added 3 overtime ships [3]. 4. Contract Analysis - **August Contract**: The top of the freight rate has appeared, and the continuous downward revision of the freight rate brings uncertainty to the estimated delivery settlement price. The delivery settlement price is the arithmetic average of SCFIS on 8/11, 8/18, and 8/25 [4]. - **October Contract**: It is mainly for short - allocation in the off - season, and the subsequent focus is on the downward slope of the freight rate. In normal years, October prices are 20% - 30% lower than August prices. It is relatively safe to short - allocate, but attention should be paid to the price at which shipping companies try to stabilize the price during the downward cycle [5]. - **December Contract**: The off - peak and peak season rules still exist, but the risk lies in whether the Suez Canal will resume navigation. In the fourth quarter, due to Western holidays, the shipping volume is usually high, and shipping companies will adjust the supply to keep the freight rate at a high level [6]. 5. Futures and Spot Prices - As of August 6, 2025, the total open interest of all contracts of the container shipping index European line futures is 78,020 lots, and the single - day trading volume is 63,874 lots. The closing prices of different contracts are provided. On August 1, the SCFI prices for different routes are also given [7]. 6. Strategy - **Single - side**: The main contract fluctuates weakly. - **Arbitrage**: Go long on the December contract and short on the October contract, and short the October contract on rallies [8].

Report Industry Investment Rating - The report does not mention the industry investment rating Core Viewpoints - The fundamentals of the Container Shipping Index (European Line) continue to be weak. Hold short positions in the October contract and consider adding short positions on rallies. The upper pressure levels are around 1450 - 1500 points. There are potential upward risks that may prevent the smooth decline of the 2510 contract [12]. Summaries by Relevant Catalogs 1. Futures Market - EC2508 closed at 2,071.3, down 1.18%, with 418 in trading volume, 3,700 in open interest, and a decrease of 246 in open interest. EC2510 closed at 1,420.1, up 0.64%, with 48,555 in trading volume, 54,361 in open interest, and an increase of 2,253 in open interest. EC2512 closed at 1,751.4, up 4.12%, with 10,672 in trading volume, 9,581 in open interest, and an increase of 1,373 in open interest [1]. 2. Freight Rates - SCFIS: European route was at 2,297.86 points, down 0.8% week - on - week; SCFIS: US West route was at 1,130.12 points, down 12.0% week - on - week. SCFI: European route was at $2,051/TEU, down 1.9% bi - weekly; SCFI: US West route was at $2,021/FEU, down 2.2% bi - weekly [1]. 3. Spot Freight - In the spot market, different shipping alliances' freight rates are showing a downward trend. Under the neutral scenario, the market FAK freight rate center at the end of August is expected to be in the range of $2,500 - 2,600/FEU [10]. 4. Supply and Demand Fundamentals - On the supply side, the weekly average capacity in August is 328,000 TEU, with the first half - month at 320,000 TEU and the second half - month at 335,000 TEU. The weekly average capacity in September is 318,000 TEU. On the demand side, the overall cargo volume has been showing a mild downward trend since mid - August [11]. 5. Market Outlook - In a monthly - level comparison, September is likely to see a double - reduction in supply and demand, but the decline in capacity may be less than that in demand, putting further pressure on the fundamentals [12]. 6. Strategy - Hold short positions in the October contract and consider adding short positions on rallies, with the upper pressure levels at 1450 - 1500 points [12]. 7. Trend Intensity - The trend intensity of the Container Shipping Index (European Line) is - 1, indicating a bearish view [13].

Group 1: Futures Contract Information - EC2508 yesterday's closing price was 2088.8, down 1.58%, with a basis of 209.1, trading volume of 704, and open interest of 3946, a decrease of 42 [2] - EC2510 yesterday's closing price was 1413.0, down 0.62%, with a basis of 884.9, trading volume of 30602, and open interest of 52108, an increase of 105 [2] - EC2512 yesterday's closing price was 1690.5, up 0.79%, with a basis of 607.4, trading volume of 2776, and open interest of 8208, a decrease of 179 [2] - EC2602 yesterday's closing price was 1492.4, up 1.51%, with a basis of 805.5, trading volume of 718, and open interest of 4116, a decrease of 23 [2] - EC2604 yesterday's closing price was 1331.0, up 1.21%, with a basis of 966.9, trading volume of 754, and open interest of 5195, an increase of 49 [2] - EC2606 yesterday's closing price was 1471.6, up 1.27%, with a basis of 826.3, trading volume of 83, and open interest of 789, a decrease of 6 [2] Group 2: Month - Spread Information - EC2508 - 2510 month - spread was 675.8, down 24.7 from the previous day and up 5.5 week - on - week [2] - EC2510 - 2512 month - spread was - 277.5, down 22.1 from the previous day and down 8.2 week - on - week [2] - EC2512 - 2602 month - spread was 198.1, down 8.9 from the previous day and down 7.9 week - on - week [2] Group 3: Spot Index Information - SCHIS on August 4, 2025, was 2297.86 points, down 0.81% from the previous period and down 3.50% from two periods ago [2] - SCFI (European Line) on August 1, 2025, was 2051 dollars/TEU, down 1.87% from the previous period and up 0.3% from two periods ago [2] - CCFI (European Line) on August 1, 2025, was 1789.5, up 0.13% from the previous period and down 0.90% from two periods ago [2] - NCFI on August 1, 2025, was 1372.7 points, down 3.55% from the previous period and down 1.20% from two periods ago [2] Group 4: European Line Supply and Demand and Pricing - In the first week of August (week 32), the European Line had good cargo collection but few available containers. In week 33, the cargo collection situation of each alliance varied, with MSK improving, OA average, and PA poor. MSK's price dropped by 100 dollars, and OA and PA shipping companies gradually reduced prices by about 200 dollars [2] - Starting from late August, the supply pressure on the European Line is very high. The capacity in week 34/35 is 340,000 TEU. The average fixed capacity in September 2025 (tentatively) is 343,000 FEU, and 33,000 TEU after excluding TBN [2] - Currently, downstream is booking space for the second and third weeks of August (week 33 - 34). The week 33 quote dropped to 2800 - 3200 dollars, with an average of 3000 dollars (equivalent to about 2100 points on the disk). On Monday, CMA dropped 200 to 3245 dollars, HPL dropped 300 to 2835 dollars, MSC dropped 300 to 3040 dollars, and OOCL dropped 100 to 3100 dollars. MSK opened the week 34 booking at 2600 dollars, a weekly decline of 200 dollars, and then rose to 2640 dollars after opening. The current average quote for week 34 is equivalent to about 2050 points on the disk [3] Group 5: News - On August 4, the EU Commission spokesperson said that the EU would suspend two sets of counter - measures against US tariffs for six months after reaching an agreement with US President Trump. These counter - measures are divided into two parts, targeting US tariffs on steel and aluminum products, as well as the Trump administration's benchmark tariffs and auto tariffs [3] - On August 6, it was reported that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to fully occupy Gaza, and the plan will be submitted for a vote on August 7. As of August 5, the Israeli military has controlled about 75% of the Gaza Strip, and the new plan will advance the occupation of the remaining area [4]

1. Report Industry Investment Rating There is no information provided regarding the report industry investment rating. 2. Core View of the Report - The freight rate has entered a downward cycle, and attention should be paid to Maersk's price offer in Week 34 [1][4]. - The top of the August contract freight rate has appeared, and the shipping company's price has started a downward cycle [4]. - The October contract is mainly for short - allocation, and subsequent focus is on the downward slope of the freight rate [5]. - The volume of shipments in December usually remains at a high level, and the freight rate is generally 10% higher than that in October. However, the risk lies in whether the Suez Canal will resume navigation [7]. - The strategy includes a weak and volatile main contract in the unilateral market, and in the arbitrage market, it is advisable to go long on the December contract and short on the October contract, and short the October contract on rallies [9]. 3. Summaries According to Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Market Analysis - Online quotes show different price trends for various shipping companies on the Shanghai - Rotterdam route. For example, Maersk's Week 32 quote was 1846/3102, and Week 33 was 1760/2960 [1]. 3.2 Geopolitical Situation - Russian President Putin had a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on August 4, and they discussed the Middle East situation, with Russia reiterating its stance on peaceful resolution [2]. 3.3 Shipping Capacity - The average weekly shipping capacity from China to European base ports in August was 347,300 TEU, and in September it was 297,100 TEU. There were 4 blank sailings in August (all from the OA Alliance) and 2 TBNs in September [3]. - Maersk added two extra - loading vessels in August (Beijing Maersk in Week 32 and Maersk Emden in Week 35), and the OA Alliance added one (OOCL/Cosco CSCL JUPITER) [3]. 3.4 Contract Analysis - **August Contract**: The freight rate top has emerged. After Maersk's Week 34 price dropped to $2,800/FEU, the prices of the OA and PA Alliances followed suit [4]. - **October Contract**: It is mainly for short - allocation, and the normal price in October is 20% - 30% lower than that in August. Attention should be paid to the price at which shipping companies try to stabilize the price during the downward cycle [5]. - **December Contract**: The freight volume is usually high due to holiday procurement. The price in December is generally 10% higher than that in October, but the risk is the resumption of the Suez Canal [7]. 3.5 Shipping Vessel Delivery - 2025 is a big year for container ship deliveries. As of July 27, 2025, 157 container ships with a total capacity of 1.2513 million TEU have been delivered [8]. 3.6 Strategy - **Unilateral**: The main contract is expected to be weak and volatile. - **Arbitrage**: Go long on the December contract and short on the October contract, and short the October contract on rallies [9].

1. Report Industry Investment Rating - The investment view of the report is "oscillating", and the trading strategy involves a unilateral "oscillating" approach with a 12 - 4 positive spread arbitrage position held [3] 2. Core View of the Report - The freight rate of the container shipping index shows signs of peaking, and the overall market is weak. Spot prices have peaked, with quotes in early August starting to decline, which will lead to a synchronous decline in late August. The main focus of the 10 - contract lies in the decline slope of the freight rate from August to October [3] 3. Summary According to Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Main Views and Strategy Overview - **Spot Freight Rates**: Spot prices have peaked, with quotes in early August starting to weaken, pulling down those in late August. For example, GEMINI's Maersk wk33 opening price rose from 2800 to 2900, while HPL dropped to 3150 in early August. OA's early - August average quote was 3300, and PA continued to cut prices to 3100 with a downward trend [3] - **Political and Economic Factors**: These factors are considered neutral. There are various political events such as the potential extension of reciprocal tariffs between China and the US, new US tariffs on copper products, and changes in the US - Gaza policy [3] - **Capacity Supply**: It is neutral. Weekly average capacity deployment is 290,000 in July, 300,000 in August, and 320,000 in September. New ships were delivered in early July, and some shipping companies adjusted their routes, redirecting capacity to the European line. European port congestion persists due to labor shortages, strikes, low river water levels, and increased Red Sea route risks. MSK added an extra 15,780 - TEU vessel in wk32 and plans to send another about 13,000 - TEU vessel in wk34. Six blank sailings have been announced in August by the Ocean Alliance [3] - **Demand**: It is neutral. Demand and loading rates were good at the end of July, but the high capacity deployment at the beginning of August weakened the effect of the inventory - building rolling pool [3] - **Market**: Spot prices show signs of peaking. It is expected that spot prices will peak at the end of July and beginning of August, decline slowly until late August, and then the decline slope will intensify. The 10 - contract's main focus is on the decline slope of the freight rate from August to October [3] - **Investment View and Trading Strategy**: The investment view is "oscillating". The trading strategy includes a unilateral "oscillating" approach and holding a 12 - 4 positive spread arbitrage position. Attention should be paid to geopolitical disturbances and domestic and foreign macro - policy disturbances [3] 3.2 Price - The spot market has slow demand recovery, high supply, the establishment of new alliances, and price drops during the off - season [5] 3.3 Static Capacity - **Order Volume**: Data on container ship order volumes are presented in multiple graphs, showing order volumes by different container ship loading capacities over different time periods [12] - **Delivery Volume**: Graphs display delivery volumes of container ships by different loading capacities from 2000 to 2025 [15] - **Demolition Volume**: Information on the demolition volumes of container ships by different loading capacities is provided, covering the period from 2022 to 2025 [17] - **Future Delivery**: Future delivery volumes of container ships are shown, including breakdowns by loading capacity and quarterly and seasonal data from 2023 to 2029 [21] - **Ship - Breaking and New - Building Prices**: There are graphs showing ship - breaking prices by different loading capacities, new - building price indices, and new - building prices by different loading capacities from 2015 to 2025 [28][30] - **Second - Hand Ship Prices**: Second - hand ship price indices and prices of second - hand ships with different loading capacities and ages are presented from 2015 to 2025 [34][39] - **Existing Container Ship Capacity**: Information on the existing capacity of container ships, including total capacity, capacity by loading capacity, proportion of idle/laid - up/retrofitted ships, average age, and average age of scrapped ships, is provided from 2015 to 2025 [42][50] 3.4 Dynamic Capacity - **Ship Schedule**: Data on the total capacity deployment from Shanghai to European base ports, as well as the capacity deployments of PA + MSC, MSC, GEMINI, and OCEAN from week 13 to week 28, are presented [56][64] - **Desulfurization Tower Installation**: Graphs show the capacity and number of container ships with installed and under - installation desulfurization towers, as well as the average age and duration of desulfurization tower installation and the average speed of container ships from 2018 to 2025 [

1. Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided in the given content 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - The spot market for the Container Shipping Index (European Line) continues to be weak, and it is advisable to hold short positions for the October contract as appropriate [1][4][5] - On a monthly basis, September is likely to see a double decline in supply and demand, but the decline in the currently estimated shipping capacity may be less than that in demand, and the fundamentals are expected to face further pressure. The trading logic of the market fundamentals remains to go short on rallies [5] - Overseas macro - factors show that the growth of non - farm payrolls in the US in July was lower than expected, and the unemployment rate rose slightly, leading to a deterioration in market risk appetite and a decline in global stock markets. Attention should be paid to the short - term market's pricing of "recession" and whether it will resonate with the EC fundamentals [5] 3. Summary According to Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Overview - Supply: In the past week, the weekly shipping capacity in August was slightly revised up from 321,000 TEU to 328,000 TEU/week, and the weekly average shipping capacity in September was slightly revised up from 314,000 TEU to 318,000 TEU/week [4][54] - Demand: Since mid - August, the overall cargo volume in the market has shown a mild downward trend. The freight rate center in the 33rd week dropped to around $3,150/FEU, corresponding to an SCFIS index of around 2,200 points. The current FAK freight rate reduction speed is neutral [4] 3.2 Price - Spot freight and index tracking: The SCFIS index on July 28 was in line with expectations. The index on August 4 was expected to change little. The market freight rate center in the 33rd week dropped to around $3,150/FEU [13][17] - Freight rate trends of major alliances: Different alliances such as Gemini, OA, and PA have different degrees of freight rate adjustments. For example, in the Gemini alliance, Maersk's opening price from Shanghai to Rotterdam in the 33rd week decreased by $100/FEU compared with the 32nd week [7] 3.3 Demand Side - US imports: In June, the total US import container volume was 2,381,063 TEU, a year - on - year decrease of 2.1%. The import volume from different countries and regions showed different trends. For example, the import volume from China was 761,585 TEU, a year - on - year decrease of 24.9% [29] - Asian exports: The container trade volume between Asia and Europe, North America, and other regions showed different seasonal trends. For example, in May, Asia's container exports to Europe were 1.81 million TEU, a month - on - month increase of 10.1% and a year - on - year increase of 16.0% [34][43] 3.4 Supply Side - European line shipping schedules: The weekly shipping capacity in August was slightly revised up, and the weekly average shipping capacity in September was also slightly revised up, with changes in ship schedules such as the addition of overtime ships and changes in the status of some voyages [54] - Dynamic shipping capacity: The speed of 12,000 - 16,999 TEU and 17,000 + TEU container fleets remained volatile at high levels. The number of idle 12,000 - 16,999 TEU container fleets increased by 1 ship compared with last week [60][61] - Turnover efficiency: The congestion situation of container ships in ports around the world, including China, the UK, Europe, North America, etc., showed different trends [66][69][72] - Static shipping capacity: In the past three months, major liner companies have received new ships of different sizes. From August to December, major liner companies are expected to receive 28 new 12,000 - 16,999 TEU container ships and 5 new 17,000 + TEU container ships [82][87]

Group 1: Report Industry Investment Rating - No information provided Group 2: Core View of the Report - In the face of high capacity pressure and the approaching off - season of demand, freight rates will be under pressure in the future [1] Group 3: Summary of Key Information EC Futures Contracts and Forward Curve - EC futures contract prices show different trends, with varying degrees of decline and increase in different contract periods, such as EC2508 at 2121.6 with a decline of - 724, and EC2510 at 1425.1 with a decline of - 2.63 [1] - The monthly spread of EC contracts also shows different changes, for example, EC2508 - 2510 is - 267.2, with a day - on - day change of 2.1 [1] Freight Rate Indexes - SCFIS decreased by 3.50% compared with the previous period, and SCFI increased by 0.53%. CCFI (European route) increased by 4.46%, and NCE increased by 0.35%. TCI remained unchanged at 0.00% [1] European Route Capacity and Freight Volume - In August and September (temporarily), the average weekly capacity of the European - American route is 325,000 and 324,000 TEU respectively. The capacity in weeks 32, 33, 34, and 35 is 330,000, 305,000, 350,000, and 330,000 TEU respectively. The overall capacity pressure is high, especially in the second half of August [1] - There is still some support for the basic cargo volume in the first half of August, but the freight forwarders' perception is poor [1] Recent European Route Quotations - Downstream is currently booking cabins for early August (weeks 31 - 32). The landing price in week 32 is about $3300 (equivalent to 2300 points on the disk), and the landing price in week 33 is about 2150 points. MSK's opening quotation for week 33 is $2800, and other shipping companies mainly follow the previous quotations [1] - Shipping companies have adjusted their quotations in the past few days. For example, HPL reduced the price by $200 to $3100 on Tuesday, and MSC reduced the price by $300 to $3340 on Wednesday [1] Seasonal Trends of Freight Rate Indexes - The report presents the seasonal trends of freight rate indexes for multiple routes, including European routes, TCI (East Mediterranean), TCI (West Mediterranean), TCI (East America), TCI (West America), TCI (South - West America), TCI (East Africa), TCI (Persian Gulf), TCI (South Africa), and TCI (West Africa) [1][5]

Report Summary 1. Report Industry Investment Rating No information provided. 2. Core View of the Report - Today, the futures prices of each contract of the Container Shipping Index (European Line) opened lower and fluctuated. As of the close, the prices of all EC contracts declined. Looking at the changes in the positions of the top 20 institutional holders on the exchange, the long positions of the EC2510 contract decreased by 1,040 lots to 26,610 lots, the short positions decreased by 1,158 lots to 32,329 lots, and the trading volume decreased by 25,427 lots to 57,250 lots (bilateral). MSC will start to lower prices in mid - August, leading the futures prices to decline from the current price perspective. Additionally, the Politburo meeting's change in the description of "anti - involution" from "governing the low - price and disorderly competition of enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations" to "governing the disorderly competition of enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations" has dampened the high - rising sentiment of related commodity futures. Indirectly, this has affected the futures prices opening lower today. For the future market, it is expected that the overall EC will likely fluctuate with a slight downward trend, but the impact of commodity sentiment and capital flows still needs to be monitored [1]. 3. Summary by Relevant Catalogs 3.1 EC Risk Management Strategy Suggestions - **Position Management**: For those who have already obtained positions but have full capacity or poor booking volumes, and are worried about falling freight rates (long position), to prevent losses, they can short the container shipping index futures according to the company's positions to lock in profits. The recommended hedging tool is EC2510, with a selling direction and an entry range of 1,700 - 1,800 [1]. - **Cost Management**: For shipowners increasing blank sailings or about to enter the peak season and wishing to book according to orders (short position), to prevent rising freight rates from increasing transportation costs, they can buy the container shipping index futures at present to determine the booking cost in advance. The recommended hedging tool is EC2510, with a buying direction and an entry range of 1,300 - 1,400 [1]. 3.2 Market Influencing Factors - **Positive Factor**: From July 28th to 29th, local time, Chinese and US economic and trade leaders held talks in Stockholm. According to the consensus, both sides will continue to extend the suspension of 24% of the US reciprocal tariffs and China's counter - measures for 90 days [2]. - **Negative Factor**: MSC has lowered the spot - cabin quotes for the European Line in mid - August [2]. 3.3 EC Base - Point and Price Information - **Base - Point Changes**: On August 1st, 2025, the base points of EC contracts such as EC2508, EC2510, etc. all showed daily and weekly changes. For example, the base point of EC2508 was 194.96, with a daily increase of 17.40 and a weekly increase of 39.36 [2]. - **Price and Spread**: On August 1st, 2025, the closing prices of EC contracts generally declined, with different daily and weekly decline rates. For example, the closing price of EC2508 was 2,121.6, with a daily decline of 0.81% and a weekly decline of 5.49%. The spreads between different contracts also showed various changes [3]. 3.4 Spot - Cabin Quotes - On August 14th, for Maersk's Shanghai - Rotterdam shipping schedule, the total quote for 20GP was $1,730, an increase of $15 compared to the previous period, and the total quote for 40GP was $2,900, an increase of $30 compared to the previous period. - In mid - August, for MSC's Shanghai - Rotterdam shipping schedule, the total quote for 20GP was $2,000, a decrease of $163 compared to the previous period, and the total quote for 40GP was $3,340, a decrease of $306 compared to the previous period [5]. 3.5 Global Freight Rate Index - As of the latest data, the SCFIS European Line index was 2,316.56, down 3.50% from the previous value; the SCFIS US West Line index was 1,284.01, down 1.37% from the previous value. Different freight rate indices showed different changes [6]. 3.6 Global Major Port Waiting Times - On July 31st, 2025, the waiting times of major ports such as Hong Kong Port, Shanghai Port, etc. changed compared to the previous day and the same period last year. For example, the waiting time at Hong Kong Port was 1.739 days, a decrease of 0.069 days from the previous day [13]. 3.7 Ship Speed and Number of Waiting Ships - On July 31st, 2025, the average speeds of container ships of different types such as 8000 +, 3000 +, and 1000 + changed compared to the previous day and the same period last year. The number of container ships waiting at the Suez Canal port anchorages was 9, a decrease of 8 from the previous day [22].

Core Viewpoint - Li Ka-shing is determined to sell his port assets, but the initial terms and pricing need to be adjusted due to regulatory challenges and the need for national interests to be prioritized [3][4]. Group 1: Transaction Overview - The initial plan was to sell a significant portion of Hutchison Port Holdings to a consortium led by BlackRock and MSC for an estimated $22.8 billion, covering 43 ports across 23 countries [4]. - The transaction was perceived as a signal of Li Ka-shing's continued withdrawal from China, as it involved transferring control of critical global shipping assets to foreign entities [4]. Group 2: Strategic Adjustments - The announcement indicates a shift from a purely foreign acquisition to a potential joint venture involving domestic investors, particularly hinting at the involvement of China COSCO Shipping [3][4]. - This adjustment reflects a broader understanding that port assets are not merely investment opportunities but are crucial for national security and shipping control, making any hasty foreign sales problematic [5]. Group 3: Implications for Li Ka-shing - Li Ka-shing's decision to modify the transaction structure suggests he is navigating significant resistance that cannot be resolved solely through financial means [5]. - The change in strategy indicates that while the sale is still on the table, the approach has shifted from an independent sale to a collaborative effort, demonstrating a recognition of the evolving landscape [5].