Container rates down for second straight week

Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) decreased one per cent to US$5,736 per 40-ft container the week of Aug. 1, marking the second week in a row container rates have fallen.

The latest Drewry WCI composite index of US$5,736 per 40-ft container is 45 per cent below the previous pandemic peak of US$10,377 in September 2021, but it is 304 per cent more than the average 2019 (pre-pandemic) rate of US$1,420.

The average composite index for the year-to-date is US$3,946 per 40-ft container, which is US$1,161 higher than the 10-year average rate of US$2,785, which was inflated by the exceptional 2020-22 COVID-19 period.

Freight rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles decreased three per cent or US$194 to US$6,740 per 40-ft container.

Spot rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam and New York declined one per cent to US$8,200 and US$9,166 per 40-ft container respectively. Rates from New York to Rotterdam increased four per cent or to US$768 per feu. Meanwhile, rates from Rotterdam to Shanghai, Shanghai to Genoa, Los Angeles to Shanghai and Rotterdam to New York remain stable.

Drewry believes that spot rates have peaked, but continued shipping disruptions will keep a floor under the spot rates for some time.