Asia to Europe container freight rates fall 6.9%

REUTERS: Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 6.9% to $ 1,156 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index told Reuters.
Maersk Line, a part of oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk has a global market share of around 15% but on the busy routes from Asia to Europe it’s around 20%.
“Industry discipline on Asia-Europe has been impressive … despite substantial oversupply,” Danske Bank wrote in an note to clients.
The average rate on routes from Asia to Europe is $ 1,327.80 per TEU while the 2013 average was $ 1,090.14.
“This raises the bar for Maersk Line in Q1 2014. Despite weaker-than expected north-south rates, we thus keep our $ 2 billion net operating profit after tax Maersk Line forecast,” Danske Bank wrote.
In the week to Friday, container freight rates dropped by 6.2% from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, but increased by 3.5% to ports on the US west coast and by 0.6% to ports on the US east coast.
Some container shipping companies have announced a new round of price hikes that will take effect in May.
“No doubt we will see similar announcements from the majority of carriers in the days to come,” Richard Ward, a container derivatives broker at Freight Investors Services, wrote in a note to clients.
Currently the market is pricing the remainder of the year at $ 1,130 TEU on the Asia-Europe trade route.