Carrier muscle wins 10pc HK-LA rate hike in a week: Drewry

CONTAINER spot rates increased 10.3 per cent on average in the past week from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants.

In its weekly spot market report, the London-based agency said rates hit US$1,486, an increase of $140 per FEU from $1,346 the week before excluding THCs in Hong Kong.

The average rate was still down 28.5 per cent from the average rate of $2,078 per FEU year on year. The lowest rate cited last week was $1,300 per FEU and the highest is $1,650.

"Container freight rates have been even more volatile than the stock market," said a Drewry analyst, with the average spot rate cited in Newark's Journal of Commerce having plunged as low as $871 per FEU for five consecutive weeks in July and August before rising 49.2 per cent in the week ending August 9.

Source: www.schednet.com