Saturday, June 28, 2025
Home Most Popular Slump in spot rates to continue

Slump in spot rates to continue

The nosediving of spot rates continues, as Drewry’s World Container Index revised its own record of the largest weekly fall in recent times.

A 10.25% slump saw the World Container Index at US$4,014, just a tad above the psychological mark of US$4,000. The Index is at Dec-2020 levels, in line with its counterpart Shanghai Container Freight Index (SCFI).

The drop this week was punctuated by the Middle East bound trade Lane, Shanghai-Genoa prices being hit by 19% while those to Rotterdam & Los Angeles took a 10-13% hit. The Transatlantic West Bound route is the only green shoot, wherein prices piqued by 4% mostly over the congestion issues.

While the index has dipped 61% annually, it has retraced approximately 72% of its upward movement to the top from the point, the pandemic hit. The next support statistically is 15% lower at around US$3,400. Drewry is still predicting a negative outlook for the coming weeks. The Chinese manufacturers would shut shop next week owing to the “National Day Golden Week”, and this is likely to have stirred rates down further for the next week.

While contract rates are reportedly stable, there would be a lot of interesting discussions, happening by the tables for renewing/ signing contracts for 2023 and 2024.

Spot freight rates by major route – Drewry’s assessment across eight major East-West trades:


Author: Gautham Krishnan is a logistics professional with Fluor Corporation, in the area of project logistics and analytics, and has worked in the areas of Project Management, Business Development and Government Consulting.





Latest Posts

Suez slowdown reshapes Red Sea’s port map

The macro picture of the Red Sea is worsen as canal transits are at half-mast, and the region has relinquished its role as the...

We asked AI: When containers become pools

We asked AI what a container might look like if it was trasformed into a pool. The result? Long steel containers, many of them stacked,...

Transpacific crash may normalise charter market

Containership charter rates, which have defied the freight slump for some time, could be peaking, as some small ships chartered by opportunistic operators for...

Shipping alliances carriers and MSC control over 80% of market

As the container shipping industry continues its transformation, strategic cooperation among carriers remains a key force shaping global trade. According to updated Alphaliner data,...

Konecranes delivers crane package for BAE Systems’ in Scotland

Konecranes has completed a turnkey crane project for BAE Systems’ brand-new shipbuilding hall in Govan, Scotland. The installation, finished in June 2025, includes two electric...
error: Content is protected !!