Container rates drop for seventh straight week

Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) dropped another six per cent to US$2,629 per 40-ft container for the week of Feb. 24-28, the seventh straight week of declines since early January.

The Drewry WCI composite index is now 75 per cent below the previous pandemic peak of US$10,377 in September 2021 and lowest since May 2024. However, the index is 85 per cent higher than the average US$1,420 in 2019, pre-pandemic.

The average year-to-date composite index is US$3,372 per 40-ft container, US$489 higher than the 10-year average of US$2,882, which was inflated by the COVID-19 period.

Freight rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles decreased 11 per cent to US$3,477 per 40-ft container, closely followed by the rates from Shanghai to New York which decreased 10 per cent to US$4,593. Rates from Shanghai to Genoa fell two per cent to US$3,747 per 40-ft container and those from Shanghai to Rotterdam and Rotterdam to New York reduced one per cent to US$2,586 and US$2,374, respectively.

Conversely, rates from Rotterdam to Shanghai and New York to Rotterdam increased by one per cent to US$503 and US$835 per 40-ft container, respectively.

Meanwhile, rates from Los Angeles to Shanghai remained stable.

Drewry expects rates to continue to decrease next week due to increased shipping capacity.