Drewry WCI falls again as shipping rates continue to drop

28 Mar '25

2 min read

Drewry WCI falls again as shipping rates continue to drop

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Insights

The Drewry World Container Index fell 4.24 per cent to $2,168 per foot equivalent unit, with rates dropping across most key routes due to weak demand and excess capacity.
Shanghai to Los Angeles, Rotterdam to New York, and other major lanes saw declines, while rates to Shanghai rose slightly.
Drewry expects a further slight decrease in coming weeks.

The Drewry World Container Index (WCI)—a composite measure of container freight rates—has declined further, falling by 4.24 per cent to $2,168 per 40-foot equivalent unit (FEU) on March 27, down from $2,264 per FEU the previous week. The global container freight market continued to see a free fall in shipping rates with no positive signs. Freight rates may ease slightly further in the coming weeks, as shipping demand remains very weak compared to the higher available capacity.

According to the weekly report, the index was 79 per cent below the previous pandemic peak of $10,377 in September 2021 and the lowest since January 2024. However, the index was 53 per cent higher than the average of $1,420 in 2019 (pre-pandemic).

The average year-to-date (YTD) composite index closed at $3,053 per 40-foot container, $167 higher than the 10-year average of $2,886 (inflated by the exceptional 2020–22 Covid period).

The freight rates from Rotterdam to New York decreased by 7 per cent, or $154, to $2,162 per 40-foot container, and those from Shanghai to Los Angeles fell by 6 per cent, or $171, to $2,487 per 40-foot container. The rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam and Shanghai to New York decreased by 4 per cent to $2,370 and $3,622 per 40-foot container, respectively, while those from Shanghai to Genoa declined by 3 per cent, or $115, to $3,171 per 40-foot container.

Conversely, rates from Rotterdam to Shanghai increased by 3 per cent, or $16, to $500 per 40-foot container, and those from Los Angeles to Shanghai increased by 1 per cent, or $7, to $709 per 40-foot container. Meanwhile, rates from New York to Rotterdam remained stable.

Drewry expects rates to decrease slightly in the upcoming weeks.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)

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