Container freight rates on the major east-west routes continue to dwindle. Drewry‘s World Container Index (WCI) is down by 1.2%.
The index is a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to/from the US, Europe and Asia. It saw a decline to 1385.17 $ /40ft containe[ds_preview]r this week and it is down by 4% from the same period of 2016.
The average composite index of the WCI for year-to-date, is 1,532 $, which is 100$ lower than the five-year average of 1,632 $, Drewry says. It is also 4% lower than a year ago.
Demand watered down
According to the latest report, the less-than-expected demand has already watered down the GRIs in September. The WCI between Shanghai and Rotterdam lost another $84 for a 40ft box this week to reach $1,451. The hurricanes roiled volume to the East and Gulf Coast of the US, causing Transpacific rates to see-saw. »While the rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased by $61 to reach $1,546 per FEU, rates on Shanghai-New York declined by another $37 to reach $2,135«, it is said.
