Global Freight Rate News

Small yet significant rises in European import and export activity, combined with increased Far East imports and continued growth in US exports has fuelled a moderate improvement in long-term global container rates in March. The trend, identified in the latest XSI Public Indices report from Xeneta, builds on the positive rates development recorded last month, which effectively halted a decline underway since August 2018.Oslo-based Xeneta, a leading ocean freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform…

Drewry’s Global Freight Rate Index, a weighted average of spot container freight rates across all major routes except intra-Asia, swung back in July by 13% to reach $1,403 per 40ft box. The global spot rate index had dropped to an all-time low of $1,113 per 40ft container in April. Drewry is in a unique position to track these trends through its Container Freight Rate Insight online platform, via which a constant panel of over 30 forwarders and NVOCCs report rates on a continuous basis. Among the North-South trades, dismally low rates on the Asia-West Africa and Asia-South Africa routes are registering signs of reversal, with the start of the peak season. Rates from Shanghai to Lagos increased by 11% between May and July.

Container shipping costs have continued to rise, but the trend has not been uniform across all trades and Drewry is expecting rate levels to fall in the final months of the year. Pricing on Asia origin trades has been buoyed by peak season volumes, but as the trade enters the shoulder season still plagued by overcapacity rates will come under renewed pressure. Drewry’s Global Freight Rate Index, a weighted average across all main trades excluding intra-Asia, rose for the second consecutive month in August to $2,159 per 40ft, a jump of 4.7% compared to the previous month.

Average global freight rates have fallen to a 15-month low, according to Drewry’s new online Container Freight Rate Insight. Drewry’s Global Freight Rate Index fell 12% in April to reach its lowest level since February 2012, when container shipping was still recovering from the last ocean carrier price war. The Index, which is a weighted average of freight rates across the 600 trade routes covered by Drewry’s Container Freight Rate Insight, reached a new low of $2,065 per 40ft and has fallen 18% since the start of the year.

Marks & Spencer joined other multinationals from North America, Asia and Europe which have found in Drewry’s 150 sets of port region-to-port region container freight rates a valuable source of pricing benchmarks to help their transport procurement decisions. Due to the launch of the global container freight rate benchmarks and associated regional and global freight rate indices, Drewry is making the unique, industry-first freight rate data available on-line to subscribers at www.containerbenchmarks.com. This interactive on-line database provides current and historical market-based container freight rate benchmarks for multiple trade routes and port pairs. The rate benchmarks are based on averages of rates paid by shippers to freight forwarders.