Drewry detailed assessment for Thursday, 21 September 2023

• The composite index has decreased by 5.2% to $1,479.48 this week, and has dropped by 66.9% when compared with the same week last year.

• The latest Drewry WCI composite index of $1,479.48 per 40-foot container is now 86% below the peak of $10,377 reached in September 2021. It is 45% lower than the 10-year average of $2,679, indicating a return to more normal prices, but remains 4% higher than average 2019 (pre-pandemic) rates of $1,420.

• The average composite index for the year-to-date is $1,756 per 40ft container, which is $923 lower than the 10-year average ($2,679 mentioned above).

• The composite index decreased by 5.2% to $1,479.48 per 40ft container and is 66.9% lower than the same week in 2022. Freight Rates on Shanghai – Genoa and Shanghai – Rotterdam dropped 10% or $167 and $127 to $1,531 and $1,172 per 40ft container. Similarly, spot rates from Shanghai – New York also declined 4% or $132 to reach $2,900 per feu. Rates on Shanghai – Los Angeles dropped by 3% or $58 to $2,104 per 40ft box. Likewise, rates from Rotterdam – New York and Los Angeles – Shanghai inched down by 2% to $1,534 and 1% to $831 per 40ft container respectively. Conversely rates on New York – Rotterdam increased by 2% or $13 to $747 per feu. Moreover, spot rates from Rotterdam - Shanghai remained static on its previous week’s level. Drewry expects East-West spot rates trend to remain close to current levels, overall, in the next few weeks.

Spot freight rates by major route

Our assessment across eight major East-West trades:

Source: Drewry Supply Chain Advisors