This week, spot freight rates in the container shipping market fell by 6 percent compared to the previous week, settling at an average of $1913 per FEU.
After taking opposite trajectories for two consecutive weeks, the two main trades in the sector have realigned downward: the transpacific and Asia-Europe.
Regarding the transpacific trade, values on Shanghai – Los Angeles lost 4 percentage points on a weekly basis, to $2561 per FEU, and those on Shanghai – New York shed 5 percentage points, settling at $3571 per FEU.
Despite the increases of the last two weeks, fueled by the general rate increases and blank sailings announced by shipping companies, values have now returned to early September levels.
With reference to the Asia – Europe trade, Drewry notes that freight rates on Shanghai – Rotterdam fell by 11% on a weekly basis, to $1910 per FEU; rates on Shanghai – Genoa are down 9%, to $2131 per FEU.
The consultancy firm observes that the decline recorded on these routes is justified by the difficulty carriers are having in absorbing the additional capacity introduced to the market with the arrival of new tonnage. A situation of oversupply not counterbalanced by adequate demand growth.
