Container Ship Freight Rates Fall for 3 Consecutive Weeks... Temporary Adjustment Expected

SCFI Index 4567.28
Down 16.11 Points Compared to Last Week

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Global shipping freight rates have entered a correction phase, declining for the third consecutive week.

According to the shipping industry on the 30th, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), a global shipping freight indicator, recorded 4,567.28 points as of the previous day, down 16.11 points from the previous week.

Freight rates on the trans-Pacific eastbound route fell by $90 to $10,454 per 1FEU (12-meter container) compared to the previous week. The eastbound route rates have continued a weak trend for five weeks following the announcement by French global shipping company CMA-CGM and others to freeze all irregular short-term freight rates until February next year.

During the same period, the Middle East route dropped $103 to $3,584 per 1TEU (6-meter container), and the Mediterranean route also fell by $20 to $7,315. The Australia-New Zealand route declined by $7 to $4,487 per 1TEU, and the South America route decreased by $12 to $10,199, continuing the weak trend.

On the other hand, the trans-Pacific westbound route, a major route for domestic exporters, rose by $71 to $6,414 per 1FEU compared to the previous week. The Europe route also rebounded, ending two consecutive weeks of decline by increasing $27 to $7,693 per 1TEU.

The industry expects that the SCFI index is undergoing a temporary correction following several months of increases. Securities firms forecast that the strong shipping freight rates will continue for the time being due to unresolved logistics bottlenecks at major ports on the North American west coast.

According to the Southern California Marine Exchange, as of the 21st (local time), a total of 85 container ships and cargo ships were waiting to dock at the Port of LA, worsening the bottleneck at the ports of LA and Long Beach. The time it takes for container ships to berth from the waiting area has also reached an all-time high.

A shipping industry official said, "As port congestion continues on the North American west coast, it takes at least 3 to 5 more days from the nearby sea to unloading, causing ongoing logistics chaos."

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