Container shipping indicators continue to plumb new depths with no bottom in sight for the sluggish sector.

The World Container Index's composite index, an average of spot freight rates on the main East-West box tradelanes, hit a record low of US$701 per feu yesterday. Moreover, the index rate assessments for the Shanghai-Rotterdam and the Shanghai-Genoa routes have fallen to all-time lows of US$354 and US$341 per feu, respectively.

"The World Container Index's composite index is now 60% lower than the average of the past five years and has decreased by 62% in the past year," said Richard Heath, director of WCI.

In another sign of the dire times for the sector, it has just been revealed that the fleet of idled container ships of more than 500 teu has hit a new six-year high.

There were 346 ships without work as of Feb. 22, up from 306 two weeks earlier, according to Alphaliner. The laid up ships account for 1.43m teu or 7.1% of the global fleet.