No respite in Drewry container index, rises further by 7% this week

According to the latest container freight index released on Thursday by Drewry, the latest Drewry WCI composite index of $5,117 per 40ft container is 260 per cent more than the average 2019 (pre-pandemic) rates of $1,420.

The average composite index for the year-to-date is $3,510 per 40ft container, which is $768 higher than the 10-year average rate of $2,742 (which was inflated due to the 2020-22 COVID period).

Freight rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam increased by 11 per cent, or $690, to $6,867 per FEU. Similarly, rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles grew by 7 per cent, or $416, to $6,441 per 40ft box. Likewise, rates from Shanghai to New York rose by 3 per cent, or $253, to $7,552 per 40ft container.

Also, rates from Rotterdam to Shanghai and Shanghai to Genoa increased by 2 per cent to $672 and $7,029 per FEU respectively. Conversely, rates from New York to Rotterdam and Rotterdam to New York decreased by 1 per cent to $633 and $2,093 per 40ft box respectively. Meanwhile, rates from Los Angeles to Shanghai remain stable.

Drewry expects that freight rates from China will continue to rise next week due to congestion issues at Asian ports. The container freight rates began to shoot up after intensified attacks in the Red Sea region by Houthi rebels amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)