There was more evidence in this week’s container port freight markets that peak prices on the main east-west deepsea trades have passed.
All three major indices recorded single-digit declines on the back of lower utilisation of ships loading in Asia.
The most significant drops were seen on the transpacific Asia-North America route, where Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) Shanghai-Los Angeles declined 5% week on week, to yesterday’s level of $6,934 per 40ft, while Xeneta’s transpacific XSI saw a 6% drop, to $7,322 per 40ft, and the Freightos FBX dropped 4%, to $7,738 per 40ft.