Trans-Pacific spot rate up another 5.5 percent

Average spot rates for shipping a 40-foot container from Hong Kong to Los Angeles grew 5.5 percent in the week ending Aug. 9, the second straight weekly increase in shipping prices in the key trans-Pacific market.

Although the rate, compiled weekly by Drewry Shipping Consultants in London and published by The Journal of Commerce, remains 34.4 percent below the level a year ago, the consecutive week-on-week gains suggest eastbound demand is strengthening and that carriers are holding the line on announced rate increases.

The average rate per FEU hit $1,371 in the week ending Aug. 9, up from $1,300 the week before, but down from $2,091 a year earlier.

The average FEU rate dropped below $1,000 to $986 per FEU in the week ended May 9 and then to as low as $871 for five weeks in July and early August until two weeks ago when it jumped by 49.2 percent.

Source: http://www.joc.com