Asia-Europe Box Rates Down 8 pct

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell by 8.1 percent to $431 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.

It was the fifth consecutive week of falling freight rates on the world's busiest route, and the current level is widely seen as loss-making to shipping companies.

In the week to Friday, container freight rates dropped 7.0 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, fell 4.8 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and were down 5.1 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast.

Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipper with more than 600 container vessels, in November reported a 61 percent drop in net profit for the third quarter.

The Danish shipping company controls around a fifth of containers transported from Asia to Europe and will report fourth quarter results on Feb 10.

Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen