Last Friday, May 31, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, showed a 12.6% increase in spot ocean rates ex Shanghai, which was the 10th consecutive week of rising rate levels.
At 3,045 points, the rate index is still well below its historical peak of 5,110 points registered on 7 January 2022 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A comparison, however, shows that average spot rates are almost three times higher than a year ago.
Spot ocean freight rates have been rising rapidly since early April due to a combination of strong cargo demand in China and a shortage of ships. A recent Alphaliner report in mid-May showed the big alliance carriers were short of 36 vessels to fully staff all their Far East—Europe loops, which are being re-routed via the Cape of Good Hope.
Source: Alphaliner
