Drewry WCI pauses declines after 17 weeks on carriers' GRIs

17 Oct '25

2 min read

Drewry WCI pauses declines after 17 weeks on carriers' GRIs

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Insights

After 17 consecutive weeks of decline, WCI rose 2.18 per cent to $1,687 per FEU on October 16, driven by carriers implementing GRIs and new pricing mechanisms.
Spot rates on major routes including Shanghai–Los Angeles and Shanghai–Rotterdam also climbed.
However, Drewry expects this rebound to be temporary as supply-demand imbalances could soon pressure rates downward.

The Drewry World Container Index (WCI)—a composite measure of container freight rates—paused its declining trend after 17 consecutive weeks. It rose 2.18 per cent to $1,687 per 40-foot equivalent unit (FEU) on October 16, up from $1,651 per FEU the previous week. Freight rates increased as carriers implemented GRIs (General Rate Increases) and new rate mechanisms.

Spot rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles rose 1 per cent to $2,195 per 40-foot container, while those to New York climbed 1 per cent to $3,236. Drewry expects further rate hikes next week, driven by the GRIs implemented yesterday. However, this momentum is expected to be short-lived, with rates likely to decline soon. Carriers may follow up with new GRI attempts on November 1 and November 15 to counteract any drop.

Spot rates on the Asia–Europe route also showed modest increases this week. The rate from Shanghai to Rotterdam rose 6 per cent to $1,669 per 40-foot container, while that from Shanghai to Genoa increased 2 per cent to $1,821.

These increases follow an industry-wide effort by carriers to introduce new Freight All Kinds (FAK) rates, effective October 15, to halt the market’s post-Golden Week rate slump.

Drewry’s Container Forecaster expects the supply-demand balance to weaken in the coming quarters, which could lead to further contractions in spot rates.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)

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