DREWRY’S composite World Container Index fell 2% to US$1685.32 per 40-foot container this week.
The index has dropped by 78% when compared with the same week last year.
The WCI is now 84% below the peak o US$10,377 reached in September 2021. It is 37% lower than the 10-year average of US$2688, indicating a return to more normal prices, but it remains 19% higher than average 2019 (pre-pandemic) rates of US$1420.
The average composite index for the year-to-date is US$1859 per 40-foot container, which is US$828 lower than the 10-year average.
Freight rates on Rotterdam – New York fell 10% or US$465 to US$3969 per FEU, and rates on Shanghai – New York slid by 2% to settle at US$2760 per 40-foot box.
Drewry said apart from the above trades, rates dipped by a meagre 1% on majority of others.
Rates on Shanghai – Genoa and Shanghai – Rotterdam dropped to US$2169 and US$1530 per 40-foot container, respectively.
Similarly, rates on Shanghai – Los Angeles and Los Angeles – Shanghai dropped US$1798 and US$1023 per FEU, respectively and those on Rotterdam – Shanghai dropped to US$587 per 40-foot box.
However, rates on New York – Rotterdam inched up 1% to US$844 per FEU.
Drewry expects east-west spot rates on routes other than the transatlantic to be stable in the next few weeks.
