The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) has reported a 1% decline to $1,933 per 40ft container, marking the fifth consecutive week of contraction. Contrary to the industry’s typical seasonal expectations of rising demand ahead of the Chinese New Year (CNY), spot rates across major East-West trade routes are showing significant weakness.
The decline is driven primarily by cooling demand on high-volume lanes. Spot rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles and New York both fell by 1%, settling at $2,214 and $2,800 per 40ft container, respectively.
The Asia-Europe and Mediterranean markets saw even sharper corrections:
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Shanghai to Rotterdam: Decreased 2% to $2,127.
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Shanghai to Genoa: Decreased 3% to $2,965.
In an effort to stabilize the market against low cargo volumes and upcoming factory closures, carriers are implementing aggressive capacity withdrawals. According to Drewry’s Container Capacity Insight, the industry has announced a significant number of “blank sailings” (cancelled port calls) over the next two weeks:
| Trade Lane | Announced Blank Sailings |
| Transpacific (East & West Coasts) | 57 |
| Asia-Europe / Mediterranean | 24 |
The volume of blank sailings this year is notably higher than in previous cycles, highlighting the severity of the current demand-supply imbalance.
Historically, shipping rates peak immediately before the Chinese New Year. However, this year’s rates peaked earlier than usual, defying standard seasonal patterns. Drewry anticipates that if these trends persist, spot rates will continue to decline slightly in the coming weeks as market volatility remains high.
