Freight rates increase after five straight weeks of decline

Spot prices for container freight increased last week after five consecutive weeks of falling freight rates.

This week there was an increase of 0.8% to 3281.36.

This is according to the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

The index peaked in early January 2022 with a level of 5109.60.

The SCFI measures the spot prices of containerized freight from Shanghai to a number of destinations around the world.

Until recent declines, spot rates were rising due to the unrest in the Red Sea, which has forced container shipping lines to make a long detour around the southern coast of Africa on routes between Asia and Europe.

But now the levels may be slowly returning to normal. However, freight rates are still more than 220% higher than the same time last year.