Asia-Europe Freight Rates Fall

CMA CGM Marco Polo transiting the Suez Canal on December 1, 2012. File photo courtesy CMA CGM

COPENHAGEN, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 1.1 percent to $697 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.

It was the sixth consecutive week of falling freight rates on the world’s busiest route. Container freight rates have so far increased in 11 weeks this year but fallen in 31 weeks.

In the week to Friday, container freight rates fell 3.0 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, by 1.4 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and by 0.7 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast.

Maersk Line, the global market leader with nearly 600 container vessels and part of Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, said last week it plans to raise freight rates by over 100 percent with effect from Nov 1.

The world’s third biggest container shipping company, French CMA CGM, has also announced its intention to increase freight rates on routes from Asia to North European ports by $850 per TEU. (Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen; editing by Sabina Zawadzki)