Despite frontloading to beat tariffs, ocean container rates fell this week
Spot ocean container rates fell 1% this week to an average of $3,413 per 40-foot container, according to rate tracker Drewry.
LONDON – Spot ocean container rates fell 1% this week to an average of $3,413 per 40-foot container, according to rate tracker Drewry. Rates have been falling more or less since July, despite a 4% spike seen two weeks ago.
Rates to the West Coast fell more sharply, with the Shanghai to Los Angeles route falling 5% to $4,488. Rates from Shanghai to New York remained stable at $5,210. Overall, rates remain 140% higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 average of $1,420.
Spot rates were expected to climb, as many shippers have been frontloading their orders to avoid a few things coming down the pike: likely new tariffs under the incoming Trump administration, the potential East Coast port strike in mid-January and the regularly occurring Lunar New Year holiday, when many Chinese and Asian factories shut down for as long as a month.
Container data watcher LinerLytica offered an explanation in a blog post:
“The rush to bring forward U.S. imports ahead of the imminent Trump tariffs and potential strike on the U.S. East Coast has so far failed to raise Transpacific freight rates. Although cargo demand remains strong with the most recent volume index to the West Coast remaining 15% higher than last year, the problem lies with the carriers’ inability to manage the capacity influx, with average West Coast capacity growing by 17% year over year.
“The recent rate weakness has not curtailed carriers’ appetite for ships as charter rates and secondhand vessel prices continue to rise. MSC has been particularly active in recent weeks as it continues to widen its lead in the market.”
Drewry expects rates to remain stable next week.
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