News / Carriers may differ in strategy, but their aim is to bolster Asia-Europe box rates for peak season

The Asia-Europe components of the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) lost further ground this week, and carriers will desperately need next month’s rate increases to hold.

Container shipping rates on the SCFI’s Shanghai-North Europe spot leg declined 13% this week to finish at $527 per teu, after shedding $30 per teu the previous week.

For Mediterranean ports, spot rates lost a further $115, taking the market rate down to $754 per teu.

However, most Asia-Europe carriers The Loadstar recently spoke to say June will be “critical” to ...