COPENHAGEN - Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 20.5 percent to $699 per 20-foot container (TEU) this week, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters. The drop in freight rates on the world’s busiest trade route came after two weeks with increasing rates. Container freight rates have so far increased in 5 weeks this year but fallen in 21 weeks. In the week to Friday, container freight rates fell 21.7 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, fell 9.9 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and were down 4.7 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast. Average rates for 2015 for the Asia to Europe routes, the busiest in the world, are $697 per TEU compared to $1,170 last year. 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.