Having suffered a torrid end to 2015, liner companies finally managed to produce some upwards movement in freight rates, albeit as a result of the slower erosion of the massive General Rate Increase imposed on January 1.

As of mid-February freight rates on the China-North Europe route were assessed at $431/TEU by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, a level suggesting little positive momentum. However, since the period immediately after Lunar New Year is normally challenging for the freight markets, MSI cautions that how the freight markets develop over the first weeks of March will provide a better indicator as to the likely tone of 2016.

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