Spot container rates rise 1.4%

Container rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean inched up last Friday compared to the Dec. 18 reading, while rates to the United States remained flat.    Spot container rates increased 1.4 percent last Friday to a reading of 488.68, compared to the Dec. 18 reading of 487.26, according to estimates released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI).
   The SCFI is developed by panelists from liner companies and shipping lines, which estimate spot rates from Shanghai to 15 regions around the world.
   Rates from Shanghai to Northwest Europe inched up 2.7 percent last Friday compared to the previous week, from $558 per TEU to $573 per TEU, while rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean rose 4.9 percent, from $486 per TEU to $510 per TEU.
   Several major ocean carriers including Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, will increase rates from Asia to North Europe and the Mediterranean Jan. 1.
   Rates from Shanghai to the United States remained flat. Rates to the U.S. West Coast fell from $768 per forty-foot container (FEU) to $766 per FEU, while rates to the U.S. East Coast dipped from $1,454 per FEU to $1,448 per FEU.