The container shipping market was hit by a freight fever in the first week of June 2025, triggered by the tariff truce announced by Trump, which unleashed a rush to ship goods from China to both Europe and the United States. The indicator of this pathological surge is the World Container Index published by Drewry on 5 June 2025, showing a 41 percent weekly increase in the composite index, which reflects all routes analysed.
But this is not the highest figure. The spot rate for a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles soared by a staggering 57 percent in just seven days, jumping from 3,737 to 5,876 dollars per feu. Only slightly lower was the rate increase from Shanghai to New York, which rose by 37 percent, pushing the average price from 5,172 to 7,164 dollars per feu. That this surge is linked to US tariffs is confirmed by the performance of the return route: the rate from Los Angeles to Shanghai remained frozen at 716 dollars.
The fear of tariffs is also affecting transport from China to Europe, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. The largest percentage increase in this case was on the Shanghai to Genoa route, where rates jumped from 2,939 to 4,068 dollars per feu in just one week, a rise of 38 percent. A spot shipment from the Chinese port to Rotterdam rose by 32 percent, from 2,159 to 2,845 dollars. The return rate from Rotterdam to Shanghai also rose, though more modestly, by 10 percent to 509 dollars.
By contrast, calm prevails on the transatlantic route, where the average spot rate from Rotterdam to New York increased by just two percent to 1,977 dollars per feu, while in the opposite direction it actually fell by one percent to 821 dollars, the only figure in negative territory this week. Looking ahead, predictions are difficult, as Trump’s tariff policy has become increasingly unpredictable. Drewry ventures a forecast that freight rates may fall in the second half of the year.
