Spot rates in container sea freight seem to have lost momentum in the final week of July 2025. According to Drewry’s weekly World Container Index update released on 31 July, rates have remained largely unchanged. This is particularly true for routes between China and Europe: the rate between Shanghai and Rotterdam edged up slightly from 3,286 to 3,290 dollars per forty-foot equivalent unit, while the Shanghai–Genoa rate slipped marginally from 3,376 to 3,362 dollars. A similar trend was recorded in the opposite direction, with the Rotterdam–Shanghai rate rising by just one dollar to 496.
Turning to the Pacific, rates from China to the United States fell by two percent for both the Shanghai–Los Angeles route, now at 2,632 dollars per feu, and the Shanghai–New York route, now at 4,125 dollars. Conditions were equally calm in the Atlantic, with the Rotterdam–New York rate down one percent to 2,006 dollars per feu, and the westbound route from New York to Rotterdam settling at 876 dollars, one dollar less than the previous week. Drewry notes that with the temporary suspension of US customs duties on Chinese goods set to expire in mid-August, shipping lines are scaling back transpacific services and cancelling additional sailings. As the rush to ship goods ahead of the tariff hike has now passed, spot rates are expected to remain relatively stable in the coming week.
