Shanghai index Asia-Europe rate falls 7.8pc to $1,324/TEU, GRIs slip

SHANGHAI to North Europe spot rates fell together with those to North America and the Mediterranean last week, according to the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index.

The SCFI spot rates from Shanghai to Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Felixstowe and Le Havre fell 7.8 per cent to $1,324 per TEU. US west coast rates were down 3.2 per cent to $2,485 per FEU, Asia-Med was off 3.9 per cent to $1,371 and the US east coast rate was down three per cent to $3,741.

Drewry's weekly World Container Index also reported a decline in its Shanghai-Rotterdam spot rate index of three per cent to US$2,928 per FEU - the fourth straight fall and the seventh since the index hit $3,521 eight weeks ago.

Said Clarkson Securities derivative broker Benjamin Graham: "There is little support for September GRIs. Keener selling interest on forward contracts is starting to provide opportunities for shippers and forwarders to lock in rates for next year at discounts."