News
Trans-Pacific weekly average freight rates increased 9% from the previous week to $1,672 per FEU to the U.S. West Coast (FBX01 Weekly) and 3% to $2,667 per FEU to the East Coast (FBX03 Weekly) in Week 30, according to the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), a freight index issued by the Baltic Exchange and Freightos. Weekly averages surged 31% to $1,655 per FEU from Asia to North Europe (FBX11 Weekly) and 18% to $2,345 per FEU from Asia to the Mediterranean (FBX13 Weekly).
As for air freight rates, China-U.S. weekly prices fell 12% to $3.48 per kilogram, according to the Freightos Air Index (FAX), while China-North Europe weekly prices increased 2% to $3.14 per kilogram. North Europe-U.S. weekly prices picked up 6% to $1.69 per kilograms.
General rate increases (GRI) in August sharply pushed up ex-Asia ocean rates to start the month on a combination of demand rebounds and stricter capacity reductions by carriers. Trans-Pacific weekly average rates to the U.S. West Coast have climbed 44% since mid-July and 23% higher than in 2019. East Coast rates reached $2,883 per FEU last Tuesday, a 20% increase since mid-July and 2% higher than in 2019.
Another factor for Asia-U.S. East Coast rates is the lower water levels in the Panama Canal. Though some surcharges and restrictions have been in place since June without significant impacts on rates or operations, the first reports of congestion and a ship having to offload containers before entering the canal in Week 32 point to the potential for the situation to cause disruptions.
Asia-Europe GRIs pushed ocean rates to $1,782 per FEU in Week 32, a 37% increase from July and 28% higher than in 2019. This trade lane has seen moderate volume growth in the last few months with June imports 3% higher than last year. But like on the trans-Pacific trade, the rate climb is only likely to stick if accompanied by significant and sustained capacity reductions.
Asia-Mediterranean demand remains particularly strong, and has been the driver of rates remaining above 2019 levels this year even as prices fell on other trade lanes. As carriers added capacity to the lane prices fell about 17% in July from the elevated level of about $2,400 per FEU, it had sustained since April, but a GRI in Week 31 pushed prices back up to $2,423 per FEU in Week 32, 38% higher than in 2019.
Trans-Atlantic volumes, meanwhile, have been declining gradually since last May, and in June, they dipped below 2019 levels. Carriers had shifted capacity to this lane earlier in the year as trans-Pacific demand sagged, but as volumes and rates, at $1,688/FEU in Week 32, fall below pre-pandemic levels, carriers are beginning to shift capacity away.
