Shanghai Containerized Freight Index inches up

Container spot rates from Asia to Europe and the Mediterranean increased, while prices to the U.S. continued to fall. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), a weekly index based on estimated freight rates on 15 routes out of Shanghai to different parts of the world, inched up this week to 690.38 from 674.54. The Shanghai Shipping Exchange, which publishes the SCFI, said from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast, the rate was estimated by a panel of carriers and forwarders to be $1,481 per FEU (40-foot container), down $104 per FEU. To the U.S. East Coast, the rate was estimated to be $2,733, down $113 per FEU (rates to the U.S. are estimated on a per FEU basis, while rates on other routes on a per TEU basis.) Rates on the key liner routes out of Shanghai to North Europe rose by $122 per TEU to $591 and from Shanghai to the Mediterranean by $248 to $697 per TEU.