News / Spot rates in freefall, carriers now mull blanking voyages without notice

13/09/2019

Container spot rates on the key Asia-to-Europe and transpacific tradelanes are in freefall, prompting carriers to consider cancelling voyages without notice.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), published yesterday due to a holiday in China today, recorded further rate declines for Europe and the US, as market fundamentals continued to weaken.

Asia-North Europe spot rates fell another 5.1%, to $674 per teu, which is a massive one-third below their level at the beginning of January and over 20% lower than in the ...