Container shipping rates snap weeks of gains as restock rally fades, snarls ease
restocking.
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The Drewry World Container Index composite of eight major trade lanes dropped 2.2% to $5,806 for a 40-foot unit, snapping a 12-week-long advance, according to figures released Thursday. That’s still about three times higher than the rate posted at the end of 2023 — when cargo ships started diverting en masse away from the Red Sea to avoid Houthi attacks.
Rates surged unexpectedly in the second quarter on strong US demand for goods as importers raced to stock up ahead of higher American tariffs on Chinese products, and as concerns grew about a dockworker strike on the East and Gulf Coasts later this year. The momentum is now showing signs of fading.
The benchmark Shanghai-to-Los Angeles rate dropped for a second straight week, sinking 4.9% to $6,934. Shanghai to Rotterdam was little changed at $8,260, Drewry’s figures showed.
Those prices mirror the softening of a tight market reflected in short-term container rates released earlier this week by Freightos, a cargo-booking platform. Spot rates that include premiums and surcharges on Asia-US West Coast services fell 4% to $7,738, while the cost to northern Europe from Asia sank 2% to $8,420, according to Freightos.
Ups and downs
The Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest US gateway for maritime trade, posted solid increases in container volumes during the first half of 2024 from a
