BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China's container transport for export purposes edged up for the week ending Friday, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

The average China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) stood at 804.46, up 1.6 percent from a week earlier, the exchange said.

The sub-index for the U.S. east coast route led the increase by a week-on-week growth of 6.3 percent, while that for the South America route led the fall by dropping 3.6 percent.

The CCFI tracks spot and contractual freight rates from Chinese container ports for 12 shipping routes across the globe, based on data from 20 international carriers.

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