Container freight rates plunge to their lowest level since February 2012

Drewry: Freight rates will remain under pressure; carriers will need to remove strings from the Asia-Europe trade
 
Average global freight rates have fallen to a 15-month low, according to Drewry’s new online Container Freight Rate Insight which was launched recently. Drewry’s Global Freight Rate Index fell 12% in April to reach its lowest level since February 2012, when container shipping was still recovering from the last ocean carrier price war. The Index, which is a weighted average of freight rates across the 600 trade routes covered by Drewry’s Container Freight Rate Insight, reached a new low of USD 2,065 per 40ft and has fallen 18% since the start of the year.
 
The index was depressed by a fall in pricing on the high volume trades from Asia to both Europe and North America, where average rates fell 12% apiece across both trades in April. Over half of the 600 trade routes covered by Drewry’s Container Freight Rate Insight recorded falling rates in April. And pricing is now below last year’s levels on over one third of trade routes. Pricing has fallen steadily on the Asia-Europe trade since the GRI of mid-March. Last week the World Container Index benchmark from Shanghai to Rotterdam fell below USD 1,400 per 40ft for the first time since February 2012, shedding as much as 13% to USD 1,335 per 40ft.
 
“Drewry believes that until carriers take the necessary action to correct capacity, freight rates will remain under pressure,” warned Martin Dixon, research manager for freight rate benchmarking at Drewry. “We reiterate our view that carriers will need to remove at least two service strings from the Asia-Europe trade for rates to recover.”
 
Drewry Maritime Research is the research arm of the Drewry group. Drewry also includes two advisory brands, Drewry Maritime Advisors and Drewry Supply Chain Advisors and specialist investment research brand Drewry Maritime Equity Research. Drewry have over 40 years’ experience within the maritime sector, employing over 90 specialists across international offices in London, Delhi, Singapore and Shanghai.

Quelle: LogEastics

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