Another week of decline for spot freight rates in container shipping: the figures released on March 21, 2024, by Drewry in its Weekly Container Index show a downward arrow on almost all routes, with only transatlantic routes experiencing a slight increase. The composite index, which is the average of all considered routes, fell by 5% compared to the previous week, reaching a value of $3,010 per forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU). However, the steepest drop, of 8%, was seen on the two routes between China and Europe: the rate from Shanghai to Genoa fell below $4,000, reaching $3,882, while the rate from Shanghai to Rotterdam dropped to $3,209. In the opposite direction, the decline was smaller, at 2%, but on significantly lower values ($827 per FEU).
Transpacific spot freight rates also retreated over the week: by 4% to $3,924 between Shanghai and Los Angeles (with a 1% decrease to $701 in the opposite direction) and by 1% between Shanghai and New York to $5,376. As anticipated, transatlantic spot freight rates rose by 2%: the average value between Rotterdam and New York reached $2,282, and in the opposite direction, it hit $658 per FEU. Drewry believes that the downward trend in freight rates to and from China will not change in the coming weeks.
