News
Freight rates for container exports from China remained high last week, increasing on many trade routes at various paces. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) rose 5.7% from the previous week to 2,048.27 points, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) revealed on Nov. 27.
Freight rates for exporting containers to Europe registered a double-digit increase, surging 27.2% to $2,091 per TEU. A double-digit improvement was marked for those for containers destined to the Mediterranean, too, which soared 23.5% to $2,219 per TEU.
In North America, the U.S. continued to suffer from a shortage of containers, keeping the supply-demand balance remain unchanged. Freight rates also stayed flat from a week earlier. Those for shipments to the east coast picked up 0.6% to $4,708 per FEU and to the west coast, 0.8% to $3,880 per FEU.
Rates for containers bound for the Middle East Gulf climbed 2.8% to $1,412 per TEU. Demand remained brisk on the route to Australia and New Zealand as well, lifting freight rates to the economies by 2.3% to $2,430 per TEU. On the trade to South America, shipping lines implemented rate hikes, which inflated 9.1% to $4,805 per TEU.
Transport demand was stable on the trade to Japan. Freight rates for containers to Kansai levelled off at $250 per TEU, while those for shipments to Kanto also remained unchanged at $253 per TEU.
