Box Carriers' 2016 Average Rate 7% Lower than in 2015
2016 average freight rates earned by container shipping lines operating on Shanghai Containerised Freight Index routes were 7% or $42 lower versus 2015 as dismal market fundamentals continued to drag.
According to MANA, the shipping association noted that action taken by participants in the boxship industry such as network optimization, scrapping and measured vessel deployment over the peak season helped average rates recover over the second half of last year.
As rates inched higher, BIMCO said two-thirds of trades on the SCFI ended last year at higher rates.
Carriers on routes from Shanghai to the intra-Asia region including South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore saw rates through 2016 remain depressed.
BIMCO chief shipping analyst Peter Sand expects freight rates in 2017 to remain around levels seen in the second half of 2016 "if the trade to gross domestic product multiplier stays at the current level and the International Monetary Fund is correct with their projection."
"However, the container shipping lines will increasingly focus on reaping the benefits of consolidation and we will most certainly see their profits go up."