THE DREWRY World Container Index dropped by 2% this past week.
The composite index decreased by 2% to US$1342.
The WCI has dropped by 57% when compared with the same week last year.
The latest index is now 6% below the average 2019 (pre-pandemic) rates of US$1420 and is the lowest for three years.
The average composite index for the year-to-date is US$1711 per 40-foot container, which is US$965 lower than the 10-year average rates of US$2676 (which was inflated by the exceptional 2020-22 covid period).
Freight rates on Rotterdam to New York and Shanghai to New York decreased by 3% to US$1518 and US$2552 per 40-foot container.
Likewise, rates on Shanghai to Rotterdam and Shanghai to Genoa declined by 2% to US$1004 and US$1344 per FEU.
Furthermore, rates on Rotterdam to Shanghai, Shanghai to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to Shanghai inched down by 1% to US$472, US$1961 and US$806 per 40-foot box.
Conversely rates on New York to Rotterdam increased by 1% to US$709 per 40-foot container. Drewry anticipates East-West spot rates to remain close to current levels, overall, in the upcoming weeks.
The Drewry WCI measures ocean freight rate movements of 40-foot containers in seven significant maritime trade lanes.
