SHANGHAI -- China's index of export container transport edged down in February, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

The average China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) went down 0.2 percent to 3,504.56 in the period, said the exchange.

The sub-reading for the South America service led the decline with a month-on-month drop of 9.3 percent, followed by that for the Southeast Asia service, which went down 8.9 percent from the previous month.

Bucking the trend, the sub-reading for the Europe service reported a month-on-month gain of 4.2 percent.

The CCFI tracks spot and contractual freight rates from Chinese container ports for 12 shipping routes across the globe, based on data from 22 international carriers.

The index was set at 1,000 on Jan 1, 1998.