Container rates to Northwest Europe, Med decline again

Spot container rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean dropped for the second straight week in a row.    Spot container rates as measured by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index have dropped 0.5 percent from last Friday to a reading of 745.60.
   Since last week, rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe fell from $833 per TEU to $640 per TEU, while rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean slipped from $879 per TEU to $661 per TEU.
   This is the second consecutive week in a row rates to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean declined, which are down 42 percent and 41 percent from two weeks ago, respectively.
   Since last week, rates from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast rose from $1,542 per FEU to $1,719 per FEU, while rates from Shanghai to the U.S. East Coast increased from $2,985 per FEU to $3,159 per FEU.
   Maersk Line projects the market will continue to be under pressure from overcapacity and weak demand.
   “As seen during Q2 the Danish line is prepared to lower the rates it offers to customers if it results in a retention of market share,” Richard Ward, a container derivatives broker at Freight Investor Service in London, said. “This adjustment should send warning signals to other carriers who may have been thinking about increasing their own market share at the expense of Maersk Line.”