According to the World Container Index published by Drewry on 12 September, the steep downward trend in average spot container freight rates on the China-Europe trade persisted into the second week of the month. The sharpest fall was recorded on the Shanghai-Genoa route, where the rate dropped by 12% in just one week to 2,342 dollars per feu. The Shanghai-Rotterdam service also saw a significant decline, down 10% to 2,143 dollars for a 40-foot container. Year-on-year, the two rates have fallen by 55% and 58% respectively. On the return leg, Rotterdam-Shanghai, prices held almost steady at 455 dollars compared with 461 dollars the previous week.
The situation is reversed on the China-US trade, where average spot rates have risen. The strongest increase was seen between Shanghai and Los Angeles, up 6% to 2,678 dollars per feu, although the figure remains 52% lower than a year earlier. Shipments from China to New York also edged up, gaining 2% in a week to 3,743 dollars, but here too the annual comparison remains negative at minus 44%. In the opposite direction, from Los Angeles to Shanghai, the rate held unchanged at 723 dollars.
In the Atlantic, movements were less pronounced but direction-dependent. From Rotterdam to New York, the rate slipped by 1% to 1,938 dollars per feu, while on the return leg from the US to Europe it rose by 2% to 856 dollars. Drewry expects freight rates to continue contracting in the weeks ahead, although the outcome will also hinge on whether and how the United States enforces penalties on container vessels built in China.
