The World Container Index assessed by Drewry, a composite of container freight rates on 8 major routes to/from the US, Europe and Asia, is down by 4.8% to $1430.69/40ft container [updated Thurs, 7 Sep 17].  Two-year spot freight rate trend for the World Container Index:
World Container Index: Drewry assessment on Thursday, 7 September 2017 The composite index is down by 4.8% this week and up by 1% from the same period of 2016. The average composite index of the WCI, assessed by Drewry for year-to-date, is US $1,540/40ft container, which is $99 lower than the five-year average of $1,639/40ft container. It is also 1% higher than a year ago. Massive factory closure in China, subsequent to strict government action to curtail pollution, might taper off the pre-Golden Week volume spike this year. As a result, rates are falling rapidly on the Asia-Europe and the Transpacific trades. The World Container Index (WCI) between Shanghai and Rotterdam lost another $104 for a 40ft box this week to reach $1,598. The decline was equally pronounced on the Transpacific route. The rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles lost $70 to reach $1,491 per feu, and the rates on Shanghai-New York sunk by $173 to reach $2,300 per 40ft box. We do not foresee any substantial strengthening of the spot market next week.