Rates to the Mediterranean from Asia slumped 3.4 per cent for the week to $1,325 per TEU, marking the 10th straight week of decline on the trade.
Recent steady declines on the Asia-US routes appeared to halt for the week, as rates to the US west coast crept up 0.2 per cent, or $5, to $2,490 per FEU, while rates to the east coast slipped, but only by 0.6 per cent to $3,720 per FEU.
The slightly improved result on the transpacific is in part due to the impending strike among port workers on the US east coast, says London-based shipbroker ACM/GFI Group.
Across all trades covered by the index the SCFI dropped 2.1 per cent to 1,267.02 points.