News / Carriers caught between the rock of contract premiums and the hard place of falling spot rates

Container spot rates on the two biggest trades, Asia-Europe and the transpacific, fell again this week, exerting yet more pressure on the overstretched balance sheets of ailing ocean carriers.

The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) recorded a cumulative 3.6% spot rate decline on the previous week.

From Asia to North Europe, the SCFI suffered a 6.9% fall of $20 to $271 per teu – a level close to the all-time low recorded just four weeks ago – while to Mediterranean ports, there was ...