Container rates drop for first time since April

Following a period of continuous increases since the end of April, Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) has decreased two per cent to US$5,806 per 40-ft container, with Drewry saying it believes spot rates have peaked.

The latest Drewry WCI composite index of US$5,806 per 40-ft container is 44 per cent below the previous pandemic peak of US$10,377 in September 2021, but is 309 per cent higher than the average 2019 (pre-pandemic) rates of US$1,420. The composite index has increased 268 per cent when compared with the same week last year.

The average composite index for the year-to-date is US$3,886 per 40-ft container, which is US$1,108 higher than the 10-year average rate of US$2,777, which was inflated by the exceptional 2020-22 COVID-19 period.

Freight rates from New York to Rotterdam increased four per cent or US$26 to US$736 per forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU). Likewise, rates from Rotterdam to New York and Los Angeles to Shanghai rose one per cent to US$1,954 and US$706 per 40-ft box respectively. Conversely, rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles decreased five per cent or US$354 to US$6,934 per 40-ft box. Rates from Shanghai to New York dropped four per cent or US$399 to US$9,213 per 40-ft container.

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