Spot container rates drop again after surging last week

Although rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean rose 24.6 percent since last week, rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe sank 50.4 percent.    Spot container rates as published in the Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, which includes spot rate estimates from Shanghai to 15 regions around the world, fell from last week’s reading of 535.22 to a reading of 494.10.
   Rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe tumbled 50.4 percent since last week, from $554 per TEU to $275 per TEU, which reflects a failure in attempted Dec. 1 general rate increases by carriers. At this time last week, rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean had increased  87.8 percent and 98.7 percent from the week before, while rates to the United States inched up 1.5 percent to the West Coast and 0.7 percent to the East Coast.
   Several major ocean carriers, including Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, looked to increase rates from regions in Asia to regions in North Europe and the Mediterranean effective Dec. 1.
   Ironically, rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean rose 24.6 percent since last week, from $626 per TEU to $780 per TEU.
   Rates from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast fell from $936 per forty-foot container (FEU) to $891 per FEU since last week, while rates from Shanghai to the U.S. East Coast fell from $1,699 per FEU to $1,625 per FEU, down 4.8 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.
   Maersk Line looked to increase rates from Far East Asia to the United States effective Dec. 1, while Wan Hai looked to increase rates to all U.S. West Coast destinations effective Dec. 5.
   Reports that carriers are close to settling the EU Commission’s probe into possible price fixing practices surfaced this week from Bloomberg, Richard Ward, a container derivatives broker at Freight Investor Services said.
   “The probe was initiated five years ago and relates to the practice of carriers signaling price increases through GRIs, which provide rivals the opportunity to align their rates. It was reported that carriers would set strict limits for three years on how they signal tariff increases and in return the EU would agree to drop its investigation without levying fines,” Ward said. “Although the outcome and exact consequences of the settlement are unclear, it could shake up the current process of monthly GRIs that carriers have become so reliant upon.”