SPOT rates for shipping containers from Asia to Northern Europe fell 23 percent to US$332 per TEU in the week ending Friday, according to the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI), Reuters reported.

The Asia-Med component of the SCFI fell 24.2 percent.

Shanghai to the US west coast declined 19 percent to $1,070 per FEU as rates to the US east coast fell 11.4 percent to $2,074 per FEU.

Rates to the South American east coast fell to their lowest level ever to $99 per TEU, remarked Richard Ward, a container derivatives broker at London's Freight Investor Services said.