While Xeneta said rates could continue to fall due to the Panama Canal expansion, London-based firm Drewry said it projects freight rates will rise modestly over the next 18 months.
The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index fell 10 percent since last Friday, from a reading of 752.65 to a reading of 677.70.
Since last week, rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe tumbled 22.7 percent, from $1,206 per TEU to $932 per TEU. From Shanghai to the Mediterranean, rates fell 18.9 percent, from $1,172 per TEU to $951 per TEU.
Meanwhile, on the Shanghai to U.S. West Coast trade, rates trickled down 3.6 percent, from $1,209 per FEU to $1,166 per FEU, while rates on the Shanghai to U.S. East Coast trade slipped 3.2 percent, from $1,785 per FEU to $1,727 per FEU.
Looking ahead, ocean procurement software provider Xeneta said freight rates could decline even further as carriers seek to fill larger ships that are now able to transit the recently expanded Panama Canal.
Containerships with up to 14,000 TEUs of capacity are now able to transit the newly expanded waterway, which opened June 26. Previously, the Panama Canal’s maximum capacity was just 5,000 TEUs.
On the flip side, shipping research and consulting firm Drewry said Tuesday it anticipates container freight rates will rise modestly over the next 18 months, however, not enough to rescue the industry from substantial losses throughout 2016.
“For 2017, Drewry anticipates a slightly brighter picture with global freight rates forecast to improve by about 8 percent,” Drewry’s Director of Container Research Neil Dekker said. “Carriers are expected to take some action to address overcapacity as cashflow attrition becomes more urgent and BCO (beneficial cargo owner) rates rise from this year’s lows. But once again, this cannot be seen as a genuine recovery since these so-called improvements must be set in context against the unnecessarily big rate declines seen in both 2015 and 2016.”
SCFI falls back down after last week’s jump
