News / Transpacific spot rates hit highest level for 18 months, but US imports are drying up

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In the past month, container spot rates from Asia to the US west coast have rocketed by over $1,000 per 40ft, bucking the fundamentals of mass unemployment and an economic recession now hitting the US economy.

Last week’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) recorded a second massive spike, of over 25%, in three weeks to take the spot rate to $2,755 per 40ft – double the rate recorded by the index at this time last year.

According to a JOC report, China-US ...