Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 2.2 percent to $1,203 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ending on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters. It was the third consecutive week of falling freight rates on the world’s busiest route. Container freight rates have so far increased in nine weeks this year but fallen in 21 weeks. Average rates for 2014 are $1,273 per TEU compared with $1,090 last year. The comprehensive index fell 1.8 percent to $1,061 per TEU. Maersk Line, the global market leader with nearly 600 container vessels and part of Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, was one of the few container shipping companies to make a profit last year. The Danish shipping company controls around one fifth of all transported containers from Asia to Europe.