News / Shipping lines 'at mercy of forwarders' who won't commit, with blank sailings likely to continue

© Jhansen2 -

Today’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) saw container spot rates tumble across the board, resulting in the SCFI comprehensive index losing a further 4.1 percentage points to 734, which is some 18% below the level of a year ago. 

The two major tradelanes, Asia – Europe, and the transpacific, both suffered rate declines due to negative market fundamentals, as a very disappointing third quarter draws to a close for ocean carriers. 

Spot rates to North Europe, as recorded by the SCFI, fell by an additional 5.2% on the week to ...