APL’s box rates still increasing fast

APL’s box rates still increasing fast    Container freight rates have continued to rise dramatically, according to statistics of APL released by its parent company, Neptune Orient Lines.
   For the four-week period ended July 25, APL’s average freight rate across all trade routes amounted to $2,664 per 40-foot equivalent unit, 27 percent higher than the year-earlier price level of $2,095. The latest rate average was also 3 percent higher than in June.
   Neptune Orient Lines noted the “continued rate recovery in the Asia-Europe trade and the introduction of peak season surcharges in the transpacific.” The Singapore-based carrier also reported that demand for capacity “remains strong” and that vessel utilization was high “on the headhaul legs of all key trade routes” such as the eastbound transpacific and westbound Asia-Europe routes.