S&P Global launches Indian Subcontinent-East Coast North America bunker charge, PBX assessments

S&P Global Commodity Insights has launched two daily Platts container freight bunker charge assessments and two daily Platts container bunker excluded assessments for the Indian Subcontinent to East Coast North America shipping lane, effective April 1, 2022.

S&P Global first proposed the launch of these assessments in a subscriber note published Feb. 16: https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/021622-platts-proposes-to-launch-indian-subcontinent-east-coast-north-america-bunker-charge-pbx-assessments-april-1

The assessments add to the existing coverage of the region, supporting the launch of spot container freight box rate assessments on the growing Indian Subcontinent-East Coast North America trade lane: https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/030222-s-p-global-to-launch-indian-subcontinent-east-coast-north-america-box-rate-assessments-april-1.

The new bunker charge assessments cover the following container routes

These daily assessments reflect the bunker costs for transporting a 40-foot container on the above routes and are expressed in $/FEU.

The assessments reflect the use of 0.5% sulfur and 0.1% sulfur marine fuel and are calculated using the $/mt bunker fuel prices in the following representative ports, published by S&P Global.

VLSFO Colombo, Malta, Algeciras, New York.

LSMGO Colombo, Malta, Algeciras, New York, Charleston.

The bunker charge round voyage weighting allocation, vessel speed and consumption used in the bunker charge calculations are arrived at through market survey and reflect market practice. All assessments include a sea margin of 5%. The voyage durations are arrived at through market survey and the vessels proceed on a round-voyage basis to ports in geographical rotation within the below range.

Indian Subcontinent and East Coast North America range

The above variables used in calculating bunker charge assessments may be regularly updated to reflect market practice and new regulations.

The PBX assessments reflect the value of transporting 40-foot equivalent containers for loading five to 25 days forward on the same routes, excluding the cost of bunker fuel. They are calculated by subtracting the Platts Bunker Charge assessments from the container box rate assessments on the respective routes.

The PBX assessments are

The new assessments are published in Platts Bunkerwire, Dry Freight Wire, Dry Freight Wire Monthly, on Platts Global Bunkers Alert pages PGB3960 and PGB3961, and Platts Shipping Alert pages SHP0520 and SHP0521, in the Platts price database under the codes above.

Please send any comments or questions to shipping@spglobal.com, containers@spglobal.com, and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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