The rise in freight rates on the world's busiest route was a result of a general rate increases announced by the global leader Maersk Line and other major container shipping companies earlier in January.
In the week to Friday, container freight rates rose 7.4 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, fell 1.2 percent to ports on the US West Coast and were unchanged to ports on the US East Coast.
Ships owned by Maersk Line, a unit in Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, carry around one fifth of all containers transported from Asia to Europe.