Spot container rates from Asia to the U.S. East and West coasts measured by the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index continued to edge down one week ahead of a proposed Nov. 15 general rate increase. TheTranspacific Stabilization Agreement recommended an increase of $400 per 40-foot container in all Asia-U.S. lanes, set for Nov. 15. Carriers such as OOCL, Hapag Lloyd, and U.S. Lineshave announced similar increases.
Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, U.S. East Coast, week ending Nov. 8, 2013The spot rate from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast slipped 0.3 percent, or $6, from the previous week to $1,718 per FEU, according to SCFI data issued by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The past eight weeks have seen rates decline, down a total of $271 per FEU. The spot rate in the week ending Nov. 8 is 25.6 percent below the level in the same week last year and 22.6 percent less than at the beginning of 2013.
The spot rate to the U.S. East Coast slid 0.7 percent, or $21 per FEU, to $3,078 in the week ending Nov. 8. During the past eight weeks, rates have fallen $317 per FEU in total, but the rate of decline has slowed in the past three weeks. The current rate is down 7.3 percent year-over-year, and down 8.3 percent from Jan. 1.
