Week in Rates: Transpac, Asia-Europe rates fall again after brief rebound

SHIPPING lines on the transpacific trade appear to have failed to justify recent rate hikes after China-US west coast rates fell last week by 2.7 per cent to US$1,704 per FEU and China-US east coast spot rates dipped by 1.2 per cent to $3,319 per FEU, according to the latest Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).

Asia-Europe rates, which had also been trending up in recent weeks, stumbled to $833 per TEU, 0.7 per cent down from the previous week.


UK-based shipbroker ACM Shipping said the carriers had done well to "hype" the market ahead of the rate increases, but the hype proved to have little impact. "It looks like the lines are out of excuses now to create a scarcity of supply and rates are heading south again," ACM said.


Good news continues to stream in from the Asia-Mediterranean trade, which once again saw rates rise last week 3.8 per cent to $1,133 per TEU.