Calmer waters for container spot rates, but ‘fragile’ Middle East a threat

There was a certain sense of calm about the container spot freight rate market this week, with slight declines on both the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades as capacity constraints eased and demand remained seasonally subdued.

Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) recorded a 2% week-on-week drop on its Shanghai-Rotterdam leg, to end at $3,615 per 40ft, while the Shanghai-Genoa was flat at $4,166 per 40ft, which indicated that new FAK (freight all kinds) levels, introduced by carriers on 1 November, were unable to stick.

The carriers had aimed to push the Asia-North Europe spot rate up to around $4,500 per 40ft and to around $5,000 on Mediterranean shipments. A further attempt at higher FAK levels, around the same as before, is scheduled for 15 November, but modest demand and ample capacity is likely to weigh against them, European forwarders told The Loadstar.

“On Asia-Europe rates, we did have initial rates for the fist half of November extended from mid-October, but these are starting to drop a little – I suppose, with the early Chinese New Year, carriers are expecting a small peak, but bookings at this stage would suggest it will not be like previous years,” one said.

This story was originally published by The Loadstar. Read the full story at The Loadstar →