23.05.09WCI Up for 1st Time in 2 Weeks

Drewry Maritime Research’s composite World Container Index (WCI) increased 1% from the previous week to $1,763.28 per FEU in Week 18.The composite index has, however, dropped 77% when compared with the same week of 2022.The WCI was 83% below the peak of $10,377 per FEU reached in September 2021. It was 34% lower than the 10-year average of $2,688 per FEU, indicating a return to more normal prices, but remained 24% higher than the pre-pandemic average of $1,420 per FEU in 2019.The year-to-data average was $1,883 per FEU, $804 lower than the abovementioned 10-year average.

Freight rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam gained 3% or $53 to $1,645 per FEU. Rates from Shanghai to Genoa and to New York both inched up 2% to settle at $2,232 per FEU and $2,829 per FEU, respectively. Rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles, from Rotterdam to Shanghai, from Los Angeles to Shanghai, from New York to Rotterdam and from Rotterdam to New York all hovered around the previous week’s levels. Drewry expects east-west spot rates on routes other than the trans-Atlantic to be stable in the next few weeks.