Spot rates fall 20% in 7 weeks, now below pre-pandemic levels

LONDON – Spot container rates continue their descent, falling for the sixth week in a row this week. Spot rates fell 5.1% this week to $1,404.38 per 40-foot container. Last week, they fell 5.1%, and the week before that, 7.1%.

According to container price tracker Drewry, spot rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles fell 4% this week to $2,016 per container. Over the past three weeks now, rates on the route have fallen 11%. Shanghai to New York is falling at a steeper pace, declining 7% this week to $2,684. Shanghai to New York has now fallen 22% in three weeks. Rates on the two routes might be leveling out, with New York dropping 62% since last year and Los Angeles falling 44%.

Spot rates are now 1% below 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, the first time this has happened since before March 2020. Rates are down 65% from the same week last year and significantly below the peak of $10,377 reached in September 2021.

Drewry expects rates to remain around current levels in the coming weeks.

See also:

• Two leading East Coast ports see big volume dips in August
• Spot container rates keep dropping, signaling weak peak season