News / Spot rates tumble with excess capacity and threat of US-China trade war

© Katatonia82 | Dreamstime.com - Industrial view of Sea port of Limassol, Cyprus

Container spot rates continued to slide this week as capacity issues threatened the stability of the Asia-Europe trade.

And on the transpacific, a trade war appears to be on the verge of breaking out between China and the US.

This week’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) saw European components tumble by 5% for North Europe to $704 per teu, and by 2.3% for Mediterranean ports to $650 per teu.

Spot rates on the route have now fallen for four consecutive weeks, following Chinese ...