SCFI declines 1.9 percent

The Shanghai Containerized Freight index fell 1.9 from last Friday to a reading of 971.64, but the index is still much higher from a year prior.    The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) fell 1.9 percent from last week’s reading of 990.24 to a reading of 971.64.
   From Shanghai to Europe, rates fell 3.1 percent since last week, from $1,086 per TEU to $1,052 per TEU, while from Shanghai to the Mediterranean, rates slipped 2.3 percent, from $1,028 per TEU to $1,004 per TEU.
   Meanwhile, rates from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast fell 2 percent, from $2,211 per FEU to $2,167 per FEU. However, rates from Shanghai to the U.S. East Coast inched up 1.5 percent, from $3,594 per FEU to $3,647 per FEU.
   Although spot rates have declined over the past week, the broader picture still illustrates how they have been on the rise, drastically increasing from a year prior, with especially large increases after Hanjin filed for bankruptcy in the third quarter of 2016.
   As of Jan. 22 of last year, the overall index stood at a reading of 615.77, with rates from Shanghai to Europe especially low at just $545 per TEU.