According to the latest data released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange on May 24, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) has risen for seven consecutive weeks, reaching a 21-month high. Last week, it increased by 182.67 points to 2703.43 points, a weekly increase of 7.24%. Freight rates on the four major ocean routes continued to rise, with significant increases on the European routes. The European and Mediterranean routes rose by 11.77% and 7.35% respectively compared to the previous period. The US West Coast and US East Coast routes increased by 3.26% and 7.56% respectively.
Drewry's World Container Index (WCI) also further increased by 16% last week, reaching $4,072 per FEU on May 23, maintaining significant growth throughout May, 142% higher than the same period in 2023. Prior to this, the index rose by 11% and 16% in the weeks ending May 16 and May 9, respectively.
Freight comparison platform Xeneta indicated that with the impact of tightened container shipping capacity, spot freight rates have increased by approximately 30% over the past few weeks and are on an upward trend. Xeneta warned that freight rates might continue to rise in June with a "sharp" increase.
