Spot rates on the Asia-Europe trade have lost initial gains. Rates on Shanghai-Los Angeles and Shanghai-New York edged up, but the rate hike on this route is losing ground and rates are expected to fall next week.
The World Container Index assessed by Drewry, a composite of conta[ds_preview]iner freight rates on 8 major routes to/from the US, Europe and Asia, is up by 0.3 % this week to 1,471 $ per 40ft container. The composite index is also up by 27% from the same period of 2016.
The average composite index of the WCI, assessed by Drewry for year-to-date, is US 1,570 $ per 40ft container, which is 122 $ lower than the five-year average of 1,692 $ per 40ft container. It is also 27 % higher than a year ago.
The spot rates on the Asia-Europe trade, after rising last week on the back of increased FAK rates, lost initial gains, and the WCI between Shanghai-Rotterdam lost 62 $ or 3 % from last week to 1,739 $ for a 40ft box. Meanwhile, the rates on Shanghai-Los Angeles and Shanghai-New York edged up by 84 $ and 33 $ per 40ft box respectively. However, the rate hike on this route is losing ground and we expect rates to fall next week.
