Container Ship Freight Rates Rise for 14 Consecutive Weeks... Approaching 4300 Level

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), a key indicator representing container sea freight rates, has risen for 14 consecutive weeks, setting a new all-time high once again.

According to the shipping industry on the 14th, the SCFI, which aggregates freight rates for 15 container shipping routes, stood at 4281.53 as of the previous day, up 55.67 points from the previous week. This is the highest level since the index began in October 2009.

Freight rates on all routes except the Asia-Europe route increased, breaking records across the board. In particular, rates on the North America route, a major route for domestic exporters, showed strong performance.

Freight rates on the East Coast of the Americas rose the most during the week, increasing by $285 per 1FEU (12-meter container) to $10,452, while the West Coast route also rose by $189 per FEU to $5,744.

During the same period, the Asia-Mediterranean route increased by $9 per 1TEU (6-meter container) to $7,051, and the Middle East route also set a new record at $3,643, up $59 from the previous week. The Australia-New Zealand route rose by $190 to $3,717, and the Asia-South America route increased by $48 to $9,820.

Although the European route freight rate, which set a record last week at $7,407 per 1TEU, fell by $11 from the previous week, it still remained strong.

The shipping industry expects the strong freight rates to continue for the time being due to the spread of COVID-19 variants in the third quarter and increased cargo volumes from events such as Black Friday and Thanksgiving in the United States. In particular, confusion is worsening due to the suspension of cargo handling operations at Meishan Container Terminal in Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, one of China's largest ports in Zhejiang Province.

A shipping industry official said, "As congestion continues at major ports such as the U.S. West Coast and East Asia, and port operating rates in China have declined due to the COVID-19 situation, the high freight rate situation for container ships is persisting."

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