Container Ship Freight Rates Hit Record High for 20 Consecutive Weeks... Nearly $12,000 for Trans-Pacific Route

SCFI Index 4643.79
Up 21.28 Points Compared to Last Week
Stable for 2 Weeks on the US West Coast

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), a key indicator representing container sea freight rates, has risen for 20 consecutive weeks, reaching an all-time high.

According to the shipping industry on the 25th, the SCFI, which aggregates freight rates for 15 container shipping routes, stood at 4643.79 points as of the previous day, up 21.28 points from the previous week. This is the highest level since the index began tracking in October 2009.

Major domestic export routes, excluding the Middle East and Mediterranean routes, such as Europe and the US East Coast, all saw increases.

Freight rates on the US East Coast route rose by $217 per 1FEU (12-meter container) to $11,976, marking an all-time high. During the same period, freight rates on the Europe route also increased for the fourth consecutive week, rising $27 to $7,551 per 1TEU (6-meter container).

The US West Coast route remained steady for the second week at $6,322 per 1FEU.

The Australia-New Zealand route increased by $142, reaching an all-time high of $4,442, while the Asia-South America route also continued its upward trend, rising $4 to $10,195 during the same period.

Conversely, the Asia-Mediterranean route fell by $13 to $7,498 per 1TEU, and the Middle East route also showed a downward adjustment, dropping $35 to $3,925 compared to the previous week.

Experts analyze that container ship freight rates will continue to rise until the end of the year due to increased cargo volume from the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, combined with port congestion at major global ports and economic recovery.

A securities industry official said, "With the ongoing increase in global cargo volume and persistent port congestion, it will be difficult to expand supply in the short term, so the strong freight rate trend is expected to continue for the time being."