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Export containerized freight index dips

Container transport for export purposes lost steam in China during December due to lackluster demand on some routes, according to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The average China Export Containerized Freight Index stood at 849.69 points in December, down 0.5 percent from a month earlier, the exchange said in a statement. Last year, the index averaged 817.8, slightly lower than an average of 820.47 points for 2017. In December, the subindex for the Persian Gulf/Red Sea route saw the strongest rally of 9.1 percent, while that for the South Korean and Southeast Asian routes nudged up 2.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

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