News
Container freight rates for exporting containers from China softened on all trade routes last week following the Chinese New Year holidays. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) declined 4.9% from the previous week to 888.29 on February 15, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE).
Spot rate for containers moving from Shanghai to North Europe fell 5.6% from the previous week to $906 per TEU. On the Shanghai - Mediterranean trade, the average load factor of container freighters was nearly 90%, getting slower than the average on the Europe route. As such, the freight rate declined by 4.4% to $920 per TEU.
On the routes from Asia to North America, growth in consumption and transport demand both have slowed down since last December, easing the balance between supply and demand. Spot rates were $1,834 per FEU for shipments from Shanghai to the U.S. west coast and $2,968 per FEU to the east coast, down 8.0% and 2.8%, respectively.
On the route between China and Japan, container traffic remained stable. Nevertheless, the spot rates fell for shipments to both Kansai and Kanto, sliding by 4.0% to $219 per TEU and by 3.5% to $219 per TEUs, respectively.
