Freight rates resume downward trend

Spot prices for containerized freight fell again last week after a single week of modest gains.

With this drop, the index has declined in six out of seven weeks.

This week, it fell 5.6% to 3097.63 after a gain of 0.8% the week before.

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 carriers to make a long detour around the southern coast of Africa on routes between Asia and Europe.

But now, perhaps the levels are slowly returning to normal. However, freight rates are still more than 200% higher than at this time last year.

(English edit by Katrine Gøthler)