Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe jumped by 26 percent to $591 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange showed.



The rise in spot freight rates came after all major container shipping lines implemented a price hike announced earlier.



Freight rates on the world's busiest shipping route have tanked this year due to overcapacity in available vessels and sluggish demand for goods to be transported. Rates generally deemed profitable for shipping companies on the route are at about $800-$1,000 per TEU.



Maersk Line, the global market leader with more than 600 container vessels and part of Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, said earlier in August it attempted to lift freight rates by $1,000 from Sep 1.



The Danish shipping company controls around one fifth of all transported containers from Asia to Europe.



In the week to Friday, container freight rates rose by 55.2 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, but fell by 6.5 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and were down 4 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast.





Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen