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Spot rate recovery from Hanjin’s problems stalls

While spot freight rates measured by the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index from China to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean continued to rise, prices to the United States either remained the same or fell back from last week.

   Container spot rates as measured by the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) rose again Friday, but the boost to spot rates to the United States seen in recent weeks following Hanjin Shipping filing for receivership in Korean Bankruptcy Court seems to have petered out.
   The overall SCFI, which tracks outbound spot freight rates from Shanghai to 15 destinations around the world, ticked up 12.89 points, less than 2 percent, on Friday from the previous week to a reading of 794.10.
   To the U.S. West Coast, the spot rate from Shanghai was estimated at $1,742 per 40-foot container (FEU), $7 less than a week earlier, while to the U.S. East Coast, it was unchanged at $2,447 per FEU.
   From Shanghai to Northwest Europe the rate was pegged at $966 per TEU, up $23 from the prior Friday; while to the Mediterranean, the rate was estimated at $860 per TEU, up $158 from the prior Friday.

Chris Dupin

Chris Dupin has written about trade and transportation and other business subjects for a variety of publications before joining American Shipper and Freightwaves.