Drewry Container Rate Benchmark, April 16, 2014.The Drewry benchmark rate for shipping from Hong Kong to Los Angeles rose this week after three weeks in a row with no positive movement.
The Hong Kong-to-Los Angeles rate climbed 7.0 percent or $129 per 40-foot container in the week of April 16, reaching $1,964 per FEU. The increase, which was the biggest gain since mid-January, comes as a result of the rate hikeplanned by the members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement for April 15. The rise fell short of the proposed increase, achieving 42.9 percent of the proposed $300-per-FEU rate hike.
In the week of April 11, the spot rate to the U.S. West Coast as indexed by the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index was $1,872 per FEU, climbing 3.5 percent or $64 per 40-foot container from the previous week, following three consecutive weeks of decline.
Drewry expects pricing to remain firm in the next two weeks leading up to several carriers’ planned May 1 general rate increases of $300 to $400 per 40-foot container, if backed by strong load factors. Carriers including Maersk Line, Hapag-Lloyd and U.S. Lines announced that they would adopt this increase.
Freight volatility is expected to remain a driving force in the container shipping industry in 2014, according to SeaIntel.
