Shipping Weekly Report | Freight Rates Drop for 6 Consecutive Weeks, Maritime Market Faces a Late Spring Chill

· WCI: The latest Drewry World Container Index shows that freight rates on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes continue to fall, and container spot rates have been declining for six consecutive weeks.

The significant drop in freight rates indicates market weakness, which is contrary to the general expectation of increased demand and rising spot rates before the Spring Festival.

The peak freight rates this year occurred earlier than in previous years. If the seasonal pattern continues normally, freight rates may fall further.

Drewry World Container Index (WCI)

As of February 19, the Drewry World Container Index (WCI) was $1,919/FEU, down $40, a decrease of 1%.

Source: Drewry official website

Trans-Pacific route spot freight rates are:

· Shanghai-Los Angeles freight rate is $2,219/FEU, with the decrease unchanged from the previous period

· Shanghai-New York freight rate is $2,782/FEU, down $37, a decrease of 1%

To maintain the balance of supply and demand, shipping companies are managing capacity by announcing voyage cancellations.

According to Drewry's Container Capacity Insight report, 31 voyages have been announced to be cancelled on the trans-Pacific East-West Coast routes in the coming week, which is much higher than the same period in previous years.

Therefore, Drewry expects that in the coming weeks

spot freight rates on this route will continue to soften

Source: Drewry official website

Asia-Europe route spot freight rates are:

· Shanghai-Genoa freight rate is $2,895/FEU, down $153, a decrease of 2%

· Shanghai-Rotterdam freight rate is $2,109/FEU, down $55, a decrease of 1%

According to Container Capacity Insight, due to market volatility and continued factory shutdowns during the Spring Festival, carriers have announced the cancellation of 8 voyages on the Asia-Europe and Mediterranean routes next week.

Drewry expects that in the coming weeks

spot freight rates on this route will fall slightly

Article source: Weiyun.com