Spot container rates from Asia to European ports measured by the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index slipped in the week ending Nov. 8, seeing some gains from last week’s substantial increase erode. Both Mediterranean and northern European lanes saw rate decreases of more than $100 per 20-foot-equivalent unit following last week’s jumps of between $700 and $800 per TEU.
“Despite the persistent overcapacity issue, container shipping continues to see the largest inflow of newbuilding orders compared to the other shipping segments,” said Jefferies shipping analyst Johnson Leung, which he sees as a reason why the gains from the GRI may not be sustained.
Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, North Europe, week ending Nov. 8, 2013The spot rate from Shanghai to Mediterranean ports dropped 7.8 percent or $117 from the week before to $1,382 per TEU, according to the latest SCFI data issued by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. This cut last week’s $791 increase by roughly 15 percent. Despite this decline, the SCFI to the Mediterranean is now up 44.7 percent year-over-year and up 19.3 percent from Jan. 1.
The spot rate from Shanghai to northern European ports for the week ending Nov. 8 slipped 7.2 percent or $103 from the week before, when it had increased by $753 per TEU. The rate is now down to $1,320 per TEU. The SCFI rate to northern Europe for the week ending Nov. 8 is 4.6 percent below where it was at the same point in 2012, but 3.9 percent higher than at the beginning of 2013.
