The container shipping market entered a phase of stability in the second week of June 2025, after the spike in spot rates recorded by the World Container Index earlier in the month. The weekly report published on 12 June 2025 by Drewry highlights only marginal changes in tariffs across all routes and forecasts a decrease in the coming weeks. Much, however, depends on President Trump’s highly unpredictable decisions on tariffs.
On the routes that had seen the highest percentage increases the previous week, namely those between China and the United States, freight rate variations appear to have returned to earlier levels: up 1 percent (to 5,914 dollars per feu) from Shanghai to Los Angeles and up 2 percent (to 7,285 dollars) from the Chinese port to New York. In the opposite direction, between Los Angeles and Shanghai, Drewry reports an increase of just one dollar per 40-foot container (717 dollars).
The situation looks even calmer on routes between China and Europe, where the average spot rate from Shanghai to Genoa has slightly decreased (from 4,068 to 4,054 dollars per feu), with a similar trend observed between the Chinese port and Rotterdam (from 2,845 to 2,837 dollars). On the return leg, the rate rose slightly from 509 to 512 dollars. Steady conditions also prevail on the transatlantic route between Rotterdam and New York, where westbound freight rates remained unchanged (1,982 dollars per feu) and eastbound rates fell by one percent (815 dollars per feu).
