NEW YORK - July 28, 2011 - Plunging rates for chartering container vessels that carry sneakers, furniture and flat-screen TVs may signal a U.S. consumer slowdown and losses for shipping lines in what is traditionally their busiest time of the year.

Fees for hiring vessels have fallen 9.3% since the end of April, according to the Howe Robinson Container Index, which tracks charter rates for a range of vessels. Last year, the index surged 56% in the period, as lines added ships on demand from U.S. and European retailers restocking for the back-to-school and holiday shopping periods.

“The troubling part is that charter rates are falling in the peak season,” said Johnson Leung, head of regional transport at Jefferies Group, Inc. in Hong Kong. “Sentiment among consumers and retailers isn’t very strong.”

Lines including Hanjin Shipping Co., Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. have also delayed the introduction of peak-season surcharges on Asia-U.S. routes by about two months, as U.S. unemployment above 9% and slowing sales of new homes dampen demand. Combined inbound container traffic at Los Angeles and Long Beach, the two busiest U.S. ports, dropped 4.6% last month, the first decline since January 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The delay in imposing peak-season surcharges shows how dire the situation is,” said Um Kyung A, a Shinyoung Securities Co. analyst in Seoul, who cut her rating on Korean shipping lines to “neutral” from “overweight” yesterday. “The U.S. economy isn’t recovering fast enough to help increase demand,” she explained.

China Shipping Container Lines Co., the nation’s second biggest cargo box carrier, fell 6.9%, the biggest drop in almost two years, to close at HK$2.17 in Hong Kong. China Cosco Holdings Co., the nation’s largest, declined 3.7% to HK$5.50. Hanjin Shipping Co., South Korea’s largest container shipping company, dropped 4.3%, the steepest drop in more than two weeks, in Seoul.

U.S. orders for durable goods unexpectedly dropped 2.1% in June, the Commerce Department said yesterday, as companies lost confidence that a recovery is really taking place.