A spate of general rate increases (GRIs) by shipping companies has prompted a sharp rise in container freight rates, according to the World Container Index, a joint venture between Drewry and The Cleartrade Exchange.
The Shanghai-to-Rotterdam container freight rate sub-index shows that rates in the westbound Asia-Europe corridor increased by 114 percent this week. Carriers in the key Asia-Europe headhaul trade had previously announced GRIs in the region of US$700-800 per TEU (or US$1,400-1,600 per 40-foot container) from March 1. Shanghai-Rotterdam sub-index went from US$1,276 per 40-foot container on February 23 to US$2,732 on March 1, a rise of $1,456.
"The World Container Index assessed by Drewry tracks freight rates very closely and promptly and answers the question which everybody has been asking: will the huge General Rate Increases of carriers be accepted by the market?" said Philip Damas, director at Drewry. "However, we will need to see whether these rate increases will stay or erode over time. Our view is that there will be a reduction of spot rates next week, but container shipping lines have withdrawn enough capacity from the Asia-Europe trade to support some net rate increases over a fair period of time."