Asia-Europe Box Rates Plunge 28 pct

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe plunged by 27.9 percent to $295 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ending on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.

The drop came after spot freight rates on the world's busiest route dropped 39.3 percent last week, and the current rates are widely seen as loss-making levels for container shipping companies.

The spot freight rates for transporting containers, carrying anything from flat-screen TVs to sportswear from Asia to Northern Europe, has fallen 70 percent in three weeks.

In the week to Friday, container freight rates fell 22.5 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, dropped 8.6 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and were down 8.0 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast.

Maersk Line, the global market leader with more than 600 container vessels and part of Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, earlier in November reported a 61 percent drop in net profit in the third quarter.

The Danish shipping company controls around one fifth of all transported containers from Asia to Europe.

Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen