Asia-Europe Spot Rates Fall 2.6 Percent

Average spot rates on the Asia-Europe trade lane fell this week after increasing week-over-week in the previous five weeks as demand declined during the week-long factory shutdown for the Chinese New Year.

The World Container Index of rates for shipping a 40-foot equivalent container unit from Shanghai to Rotterdam declined by 2.6 percent to $1,366, down $35 per FEU from last week.

The decline fulfills the prediction by analysts that freight rates would decline on the major east-west trade lanes after the New Year.

This week’s index rate is still 57 percent higher than last year’s low of $869 per FEU, recorded in the first week of December. But it is still down by 45.9 percent from $2,524 per FEU in the last week of January 2012, when the WCI rate index was first published.

The WCI, a joint venture between Drewry Shipping Consultants and the Cleartrade Exchange in Singapore, publishes container freight rate indexes on 11 east-west trade routes.

The WCI for Shanghai to Rotterdam excludes terminal handling charges. It is designed as a pricing mechanism for the settlement of derivative trades and hedging and can also be used as a reference point for index-based contracts.

- Peter T. Leach, The Journal of Commerce.