Asia-N.Europe Box Rates Rise 6 pct

Freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe rose 5.7 percent to $761 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.

It was the second consecutive week with rising freight rates.

In the week to Friday, container freight rates fell 3.2 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, rose 8.1 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and was up 3.9 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast.

Maersk Line, the global market leader with a market share of around 15 percent and part of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, said in May its profit in the first quarter fell 95 percent from a year earlier to $37 million due to weak demand and record low freight rates.

Maersk transports around one fifth of all containers shipped from Asia to Europe.

Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen