Spot container rates to the U.S. East and West coasts measured by the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index for the week ending Aug. 16 show further erosion of the Aug. 1 ocean carrier general rate increase of $400 per 40-foot container to the U.S West Coast and $600 to the East Coast.
Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, U.S. West Coast, week ending August 16, 2013The spot rate from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast dropped 2.7 percent, or $53, from the previous week to $1,941 per FEU, according to SCFI data issued by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The current spot rate is 27.7 percent below the level in the same week last year and is 12.6 percent, or $280, less than at the beginning of 2013.
The spot rate to the U.S. East Coast slipped 1.1 percent, or $38 per FEU, to $3,408, in the week ending Aug. 16. The current rate is down 13.6 percent from the same week in 2012, but up 1.5 percent, or $50, from Jan. 1.
The next round of rate increases has been announced for Sept. 1. So far, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk proposed increases similar to those set in August — $400 per FEU to the U.S. West Coast and $600 per FEU to the East Coast. Cosco proposed an increase of $400 per TEU to all North American destinations.
