By Ole Mikkelsen

COPENHAGEN, April 15 (Reuters) – Shipping freight charges for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe have plummeted 78 % this yr, after posting one other drop this week, a supply with entry to information from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index instructed Reuters.

Rates fell 6.9 % to $271 per 20-foot container (TEU) within the week ended on Friday, the individual stated, down from $1232 firstly of the yr.

It was the second consecutive week of falling freight charges on the world’s busiest route and present degree is broadly seen as a loss-making degree for container transport corporations that transport all the things from flat-screen TVs to sportswear from Asia to Northern Europe.

In the week to Friday, container freight charges fell 6.6 % from Asia to ports within the Mediterranean, dropped 9.3 % to ports on the U.S. West Coast and had been down 4.8 % to ports on the U.S. East Coast.

Drewry Maritime Equity Research wrote in word final week that “container shipping is staring at a terrible 2016 with a structural slowdown in global trade volumes, historical low freight rates and ever increasing capacity could result in an industry losses of $6 billion.”

Copenhagen-based Maersk Line, the worldwide market chief with a market share round 15 % and a part of Danish transport and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, reported in February a lack of $182 million for the fourth quarter. It was the primary time because the first quarter of 2012 it reported a detrimental quarterly outcome.

The Danish transport firm controls round one fifth of all transported containers from Asia to Europe. (Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen, modifying by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)

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