21.05.06Box Rates Hit All-time Highs on Routes to North America, Europe

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, the composite index for container exports from Shanghai that do not include terminal handling charges (THCs), stood at 3,100.74 points in Week 17, increasing 4.1% from the previous week, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE).

Spot rates for containers bound for the west coast of North America improved 1.12% to $5,023 per FEU and to the east coast, 12.87% to $6,419 per FEU. Containers bound for Europe were transported at $9,260 per FEU, up 7.05%, and for the Mediterranean, at $9,410 per FEU, up 5.82%.

Freight rates for boxes moving from China to the west coast of North America and the east coast have exceeded the $5,000-per FEU and $6,000-per-FEU marks, respectively while those for containers to Europe and the Mediterranean were both higher than $9,000 per FEU. Not only that, they were all record highs.