The large price hikes earlier announced by Asia-Europe container shipping lines for November 1 pushed through on schedule, but Drewry Maritime Research does not foresee the increases holding for long.
The Shanghai-Rotterdam freight rate assessment increased by 38 percent, or by US$788, to US$2,865 per 40-foot-equivalent unit (TEU) on November 1, marking the latest of several huge price swings in the Asia-Europe container shipping market, according to a joint press release from Drewry and the World Container Index yesterday.
“About three quarters of the planned $500 per TEU rate increases was implemented, based on our market assessments in China and Europe,” said Richard Heath, director of World Container Index.
Martin Dixon, research manager of freight rate benchmarking at Drewry, commented: “We expect this rate increase to be partly reversed in the next few weeks. However, the rate increases will probably influence the annual contract negotiations for 2013, by setting a higher price platform of rates, when compared to the situation a year ago.”
Drewry stressed that week-to-week increases in rates are less significant than how long the increase holds for.
In early March, April, May and July of this year, the World Container Index previously recorded large increases in rates, but the July general rate increase was followed by a rapid erosion of rates.
Photo: GuySie
