Spot container rates would seem to be turning a corner with key indexes starting to rise after the collapse seen over the previous year.
Both Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) and the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) posted rises this week.
SCFI rose marginally over the last week up 3.42 points at 1037.07 points coming off the back of an 8% week-on-week improvement in the previous week.
Drewry’s WCI composite index was also up 4% this week at $1,774 per feu. This is still 83% below the peak of $10,377 per feu in September 2021, but shows a move in a positive direction with rates recovery on China export trades.
On the Transpacific freight rates on Shanghai – New York gained 12% or $297 to $2,849 per feu, while rates for Shanghai – Los Angeles were up11% or $182 to $1,856 per feu.
Drewry was also positive on the outlook with the exception of the Transatlantic trade which had held up much longer than the Transpacific and Asia – Euorpe trades.
“Drewry expects East-West spot rates on routes other than the transatlantic to rise in the next few weeks,” its weekly report said.
Reference : https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/spot-container-freight-rates-rise