Container Freight Rates Rise for 8 Consecutive Weeks, Surpassing 3,900... West Coast of Americas Nears $5,000

At Busan New Port Pier 4, a rock crane is loading containers onto a docked vessel.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Container ship freight rates have risen for eight consecutive weeks, reaching an all-time high. In particular, freight rates on the trans-Pacific and European routes surged by more than $300 compared to the previous week, setting new record highs once again.

According to the shipping industry on the 3rd, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which aggregates freight rates for 15 container shipping routes, rose by 119.74 points from the previous week to 3905.14. This is the first time since the SCFI began tracking in October 2009 that it has surpassed the 3900 mark.

Freight rates on key routes for domestic exporters, such as Asia to North America and Europe, rose sharply.

The trans-Pacific East Coast route freight rate reached a record high of $9,254 per 1FEU (12-meter container), up $310 from the previous week, while the trans-Pacific West Coast route also rose by $228 to $4,944 per 1FEU, approaching the $5,000 level.

Freight rates on the Asia-Europe route rose by $307 to $6,786 per 1TEU (6-meter container), and the Asia-Mediterranean route also increased by $141 to $6,655, both setting all-time highs.

During the same period, the Middle East route freight rate rose by $119 to $3,116 per 1TEU, surpassing the $3,000 level for the first time ever, and the Australia-New Zealand route also increased by $175 to $2,768. Meanwhile, the Asia-South America route fell by $1 to $9,379 compared to the previous week.

The industry expects that the high freight rate phenomenon will continue for the time being due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation and the traditional increase in cargo volume in the second half of the year. Experts predict that the freight rate increase will continue through the third quarter of this year, with the SCFI freight index surpassing the 4000 level, reaching an all-time peak.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.