Index Documentation
The Cargobloom European Road Freight Index (CERFI20) is a market-cap weighted benchmark tracking the top 20 European freight routes by Annual Route Value.
The CERFI20 is designed to be the "S&P 500 of European road freight" - a benchmark index that reflects the overall health and pricing trends of the European trucking market. Similar to how the S&P 500 tracks major US stocks weighted by market capitalization, the CERFI20 tracks major European freight routes weighted by their Annual Route Value (ARV).
The CERFI20 basket consists of the top 20 European freight routes ranked by Annual Route Value (ARV). Routes must meet minimum eligibility criteria including at least 100 offers in the trailing 12-month period, valid pricing data, European origin and destination, and use the aggregated "ALL" body group for maximum coverage.
The selection process calculates ARV for all eligible routes, ranks them in descending order, selects the top 20, and assigns weights based on proportion of total ARV.
Annual Route Value is the core metric used for constituent weighting. It represents the total economic value of freight transported on a route over a year, analogous to market capitalization for stocks.
ARV = Base Rate (EUR/km) × Avg Distance (km) × Annual Volume
This formula captures the price level (base rate), typical shipment size (average distance), and market activity (annual volume) for each route.
Each constituent route receives a weight proportional to its share of the total ARV across all 20 routes in the basket. This ensures that more economically significant routes have greater influence on the index value.
Weight_i = ARV_i / SUM(ARV_1...ARV_20)
Weights are fixed during annual rebalancing, have no caps, and are stored to 6 decimal places for precision.
The CERFI20 index value is calculated daily as a weighted average of the current rates for all 20 constituent routes.
CERFI20 = SUM(Current_Rate_i × Weight_i) for i = 1 to 20
If a route has no offers on a given day, the base rate from the annual calculation is used as a fallback. On weekends, the index value is forward-filled from the previous Friday.
The CERFI20 basket is rebalanced annually in December, with new weights taking effect on January 1st of the following year. The process involves data collection, ARV calculation, ranking, selection, weight assignment, and publication.
This annual rebalancing ensures the index remains representative of the current freight market while providing stability for year-over-year comparisons.
The CERFI20 uses the same validated data sources as all Cargobloom freight rate products. For detailed information about our data collection, filtering, and validation processes, please refer to our general data methodology.
The CERFI20 represents spot market activity and may not reflect contract rates. Index composition changes at annual rebalancing may affect comparability. Routes with limited data may use fallback rates, potentially affecting accuracy.
Past index performance is not indicative of future market conditions. The index is for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for business decisions.
We are actively exploring partnerships to develop data products based on the CERFI20 index, including benchmarking tools, freight futures, and market analytics. For commercial inquiries, please contact us at [email protected].