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Container spot freight rates on the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades saw another week of gentle declines amid reduced demand post-peak season, while Asia-Europe carriers and their customers begin annual contract negotiations in earnest.
This week’s World Container Index (WCI) from Drewry saw spot rates on its Shanghai-Rotterdam leg decline 3% week on week, to $3,504 per 40ft, while pricing on the Shanghai-Genoa route remained flat for the third week in a row, at $4,168 per 40ft.
A new round of FAK (freight all kinds) levels are set to be applied next week, although they are modest in ambition and generally range from $4,500-$5,000 per 40ft on Asia-North Europe shipments, and between $5,500-$6,600 per 40ft on Asia-Mediterranean. They are largely around the level carriers have been targeting for the past couple of months.
However, they are also being accompanied by increased number of blanked sailings – according to Drewry’s Container Capacity Insight, eight are scheduled for next week, compared with the five this week.
The key aspect to this is that carriers and their customers are positioning for next year, with carriers keen to get spot rates up as much as they can to act as a guide for contract rates, and shippers are, understandably, eager for them to be suppressed after enduring a wild ride during much of 2026.
“Those conversations are starting more or less as we speak,” Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen told analysts at the line’s third-quarters earnings call this week.
“As is usual at this time of year, not everybody sees the market the same – I think when one looks at contracts that will be closed for 2027, they will be at a higher level than what we have seen in 2026.
“Also, when you take out the bunker component, that alone will push rates up, of course. But I think we will also see a fairly significant net increase of freight rates going into 2027,” he added.
Much will therefore depend on the stickiness of pre-Chinese New Year peak season surcharges (PSSs) that are on their way for the beginning of December. Maersk has announced a $1,000 per 40ft PSS on Asia-North Europe shipments from 1 December, while CMA CGM is going earlier, with a $1,600 per 40ft PSS for Asia-Mediterranean shipments due on 25 November.
While some Loadstar sources expressed surprise at the early timing, given that the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday begins on 6 February, Vespucci Maritime founder Lars Jensen noted it was probably appropriate, given that peak pre-CNY demand will occupy most of January.
On the transpacific trades, rates have finally began to properly descend after remaining elevated throughout October.
The WCI’s Shanghai-Los Angeles route was down 2% on the previous week, to end at $7,416 per 40ft, while its Shanghai-New York leg declined 3%, to $9,020 per 40ft container, its lowest since August.
However, forwarders on the trade said widespread discounts had been available this week, and virtually no cargo had been booked at published rate levels.
“Instead, actual moving rates are dictated by carrier promotional discounts and volume-based pricing, as space across Asian origin ports continues to open up,” said US west coast forwarder Freight Right.
Carriers have responded to the slowdown in demand with more blanked sailings – eight transpacific voyages will be blanked next week, compared with four this week, according to Drewry – and Freight Right said shippers should be aware that the cheapest spot rates could come with poor reliability for the remainder of the year.
“Ocean freight activity is expected to slow further through late November and December, supporting a broadly-stable-to-gradually-softer rate outlook.
“Improved space availability should give importers more booking flexibility, although the lowest price may come with greater schedule uncertainty,” it said.