Container Ship Freight Rates Rise for 2 Consecutive Weeks... North America Eastbound Route Hits Record High

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), a global benchmark for container shipping rates, rose for the second consecutive week. Freight rates on the Asia-North America East Coast route reached an all-time high.

According to the shipping industry on the 10th, as of the previous day, the SCFI stood at 2652.12, up 66.7 points from the previous week. The SCFI had declined for five consecutive weeks since March 19 (2875.93 points) but began to rebound starting last week.

The SCFI is calculated by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange by aggregating spot (non-regular short-term transport contracts) freight rates across 15 routes. Although the Ever Given, a large container ship, was recovered a week after it ran aground in the Suez Canal early last week, the delay in logistics normalization is believed to have caused the freight rate strength.

During the same period, freight rates on the Asia-North America East Coast route reached $5,334 per FEU (40-foot container), marking the highest level since the Shanghai Shipping Exchange began compiling data in October 2009.

The industry expects this is due to the surge in cargo volume since the second half of last year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prolonged congestion on the trans-Pacific routes, leading more vessels to switch to the East Coast route. Meanwhile, freight rates on the Asia-North America West Coast route fell by $125 to $3,931 per FEU compared to the previous week.

Freight rates on the Asia-Europe route rose by $313 to $3,964 per TEU (20-foot container), and rates on the Asia-Mediterranean route increased by $64.