Asia-Europe freight rates weakened across the board, with carriers dropping rates to less than $1,600-$1,800/feu in April and early May. Cargo volumes are expected to drop in the next 2 weeks with Vietnam celebrating the 50th anniversary of its reunification on 30 April followed by the Labour Day holidays across Asia on 1 May.
Port congestion remains very serious in Benelux, German and UK ports that have been made worse by the Easter holidays but this has not been sufficient to stop the rate de