APL’s average rates declined slightly in October

APL’s average rates declined slightly in October    Average container freight rates at APL declined marginally in the last few weeks, its parent company reported.
   For the four-week period ended Oct. 17, APL’s average rate was $2,687 per 40-foot equivalent unit, down 1 percent from $2,727 per FEU in the four-week period ended Sept. 19 and 2 percent lower than the $2,739 rate per FEU experienced in the four-week period ended Aug. 22. However, rates in the latest four-week period were still 21 percent higher than in the comparable period in 2002, the carrier’s latest monthly operating statistics show.
   “Overall average freight rate was slightly lower as the peak season surcharge in transpacific trade phases out,” said Neptune Orient Lines, the parent company of APL. “The strategy to balance the mix of the business (for example, increasing intra-Asia volume) to ensure maximum contribution continues,” it added.
   APL’s average monthly freight rates are affected by the mix of cargoes and trade lanes, but they provide an indicator of global pricing trends in container shipping.
   The carrier’s average rates have shown an ongoing upwards trend since early 2002, and appear to have reached a plateau in the last two months.
   The container traffic moved by APL in the four-week period ended Oct. 17 was 121,700 FEUs, 13 percent more than a year earlier.
   Over the same period, APL Logistics’ total revenue rose by 23 percent, to $87 million.