Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Jan 11, 2012 8:54AM EST
Average trans-Pacific spot rates held firm after a one-week jump spurred by carriers’ rate increases at the beginning of the New Year
The Drewry Rate Benchmark for shipping a 40-foot equivalent container unit from Hong Kong to Los Angeles stayed at $1,832 per FEU this week.
Last week’s benchmark jumped by 27.6 percent from the last week in December as the carrier members of the Trans-Pacific Stabilization Agreement put a rate increase of $400 per 40-foot equivalent container unit into effect on eastbound containers as of Jan. 1.
Average spot prices for shipping an FEU from Asia to Europe also jumped 30.3 percent in the first week of the New Year, according to the World Container Index, a joint venture between Drewry Shipping Consultants and the Cleartrade Exchange in Singapore
Rates on the two major east-west trades are being supported by importers needs to complete shipments in advance of the factory shutdowns before the early Lunar New Year on Jan. 23. Drewry’s trans-Pacific benchmark rates for this week and last week are both 13.6 percent lower than the rates at the beginning of 2010, when they averaged $2,119 per FEU.
-- Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @petertleach.
