Drewry’s World Container Index for average spot container freight rates, updated on 10 September 2026, shows a composite index, the average across all routes, that was broadly stable for the second consecutive week: $4,476 per FEU, compared with $4,465 in the 3 September reading, a movement of just $11. On an annual basis, however, the increase remains substantial, at 119%. This stability reflects opposing pressures: higher rates on the Pacific on one side and lower rates on the Asia-Europe route on the other.
On the China-Europe corridor, the only significant declines emerged. The steepest was on the Shanghai-Genoa route, where the rate fell to $4,216, down $152 over the week, or 3%, while still well supported year on year, up 80%. Shanghai-Rotterdam followed, shedding 2% to $3,997, $95 lower than the previous reading, with an annual increase of 87%. In the opposite direction, the rate remained steady at $596, just $2 above the previous week and up 31% over 12 months. According to Drewry, the decline is linked to the return of some services via the Suez Canal, which is restoring capacity in a low-demand environment. Meanwhile, the average waiting time at the port of Shanghai has fallen from 94 to 64 hours. Shipping lines have responded by announcing an increase in blank sailings on the route, from one to three next week, in an attempt to slow the fall in rates. Drewry’s forecasts, however, still point to stability in the coming days.
The WCI points to the opposite trend on transpacific routes. Shanghai-Los Angeles recorded the largest weekly rise in absolute terms, increasing by $167 to $7,352, up 2%, and was also the route with the strongest annual growth in the whole reading, at 175%. Shanghai-New York posted the highest nominal value, at $9,726, with a weekly increase of 1% and a year-on-year rise of 160%. The reverse Los Angeles-Shanghai movement was more limited, rising to $805, $6 above the previous week and up 11% year on year. On the Pacific, carriers are maintaining aggressive capacity management: the eight blank sailings announced for next week, compared with seven in the current reading, come despite weakening demand and the postponement by the Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (Panama Canal Authority) of planned draught reductions for Neopanamax vessels.
The transatlantic routes also recorded moderate growth, not directly linked to Asian bottlenecks but sensitive to global market balances. The Rotterdam-New York rate rose to $3,126, up $74 over the week, or 2%, and 61% higher over the year, while the New York-Rotterdam return leg stood at $1,134, up $12, or 1%, and 32% year on year. In the background, Drewry’s analysis points to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and bottlenecks at strategic transit points as factors adding instability to the overall picture.
M.G.
