Container freight rates continue to drop sharply on main routes

Shipping goods by containers

Recently, Drewry's meta-analysis of September 1 spot rates showed a 5% drop for the week, the 27th consecutive week of declines.

The Drewry index is 43 percent lower than it was at the same time last year at $5,662 for a 40-foot container, down 45 percent from its September 2021 peak but still 55 percent above the five-year average.

For Xeneta, the analyst said spot rates for the Mediterranean-US East Coast service have increased by $3,430 and for the Nordic-US East Coast service by $2,630/FEU since the end of August 2021.

Xeneta said that rates on Asia-Europe routes have decreased by $4,620/FEU, Asia-Mediterranean by $2,340 and Asia-West Coast services by $2,150. Xeneta added: “Almost every major trade has experienced a significant change in the spot rate compared to a year ago.”

Elsewhere, Xeneta noted no change in spot rates on the US-Asia West Coast service, stable at $1,250/FEU.

While analysts' methods may differ, both point to an overall decline in spot rates over the past year, but still above the long-term average.

Taking a closer look at the changes over the past week, Drewry recorded a 9% drop for the Shanghai - Los Angeles service to $5,562/FEU, a 5% drop for both routes Shanghai - Rotterdam and Shanghai - Genoa and a 3% discount on the route Shanghai - New York route. Particularly, Los Angeles - Shanghai route increased slightly by 1% to 1,262 USD/FEU.

“Drewry expects the index to decrease in the next few weeks,” it said.

Read more:

• Container freight rates from Asia to the US continue to set a new decrease
• Cargo shifting from air to sea as freight rates dropped and problems improved

Source: Phaata.com (According to SeatradeMaritimes)

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