[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which indicates the freight rate levels of maritime shipping routes, rebounded after a week and broke its all-time high once again.
According to the shipping industry on the 15th, the SCFI, which aggregates freight rates for 15 container shipping routes, recorded an all-time high of 3343.34 as of the previous day, rising 248.19 points compared to the previous week.
By route, the freight rate for the Asia to North America East Coast route also reached a new high at $7,378 per FEU (one 40-foot container), up $342 from the previous week.
This is analyzed to be due to an increase in vessels diverting to the East Coast as major ports on the North America West Coast route have experienced vessel congestion lasting more than a week since the second half of last year.
During the same period, the freight rate for the Asia to North America West Coast route rebounded to $4,839 per FEU after a week.
The freight rate for the Asia to Europe route entered the $5,000 range for the first time, rising $760 from the previous week to $5,438 per TEU (one 20-foot container). The Asia to Mediterranean route freight rate also surpassed $5,320 per TEU, up $517.
Experts forecast that the increase in cargo volume on Pacific routes and the resulting boom in the shipping industry will continue for the time being following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the national shipping company HMM recorded an operating profit of 1.0193 trillion won on a consolidated basis in the first quarter of this year, marking the best quarterly performance in its history.
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