Spot container shipping rates tracked by the Drewry World Container Index, published on 17 April 2025, reflect the ongoing instability in global politics and economics. After an uptick between 3 and 10 April, prices slipped again in the following week. The changes are not dramatic, with relatively small percentage variations. The composite index, which represents the average rate across all main trade routes, dropped by 3 percent to 2,192 US dollars for a 40-foot container.
Focusing on the routes between China and Europe, sending a container from Shanghai to Rotterdam now costs an average of 2,344 dollars, down 2 percent on the previous week. The rate for shipments from Shanghai to Genoa also fell by 2 percent, to 3,018 dollars. The only increase was recorded in the opposite direction, from Rotterdam back to Shanghai, where rates rose by 4 percent to 493 dollars per forty-foot equivalent unit (feu).
Shipments from China to the United States saw sharper declines. The cost to ship a container from Shanghai to Los Angeles dropped by 5 percent to 2,683 dollars, while the rate to New York fell even further, down 7 percent to 3,706 dollars. In the opposite direction, the rate from Los Angeles to Shanghai remained unchanged for the third consecutive week at 705 dollars per feu.
The transatlantic route is also showing signs of softening, albeit to a lesser extent. From Rotterdam to New York, the average spot rate declined by 24 dollars, reaching 2,129 dollars per feu. In the opposite direction, rates fell by seven dollars to 817 dollars per feu. Drewry forecasts that freight rates will continue to decline in the coming week, citing reduced capacity and ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs as the main drivers.
