Asia-N.Europe Box Rates Jump 58 pct

Freight rates for shipping containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe jumped 58 percent to $1,125 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ending Friday, a person with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.

The rise in freight rates on the world's busiest route came after major container shipping companies started to implement earlier announced price hikes around August 1.

The shipping industry has been battling overcapacity linked to a glut of new vessels ordered during a boom period before the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.

In the week to Friday, container freight rates increased 51 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, 2 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and 12 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast, the person said.

Maersk Line, the global market leader with a market share of around 15 percent and part of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, said in May its profit in the first quarter fell 95 percent from a year earlier to $37 million due to weak demand and record low freight rates.

 

Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen