Drewry WCI falls 7.45%, after six weeks of gains
The Drewry World Container Index (WCI)—a composite measure of container freight rates—dropped for the first time in over a month, falling 7.45 per cent to $3,279 per 40-foot equivalent unit (FEU) on June 19, down from $3,543 per FEU the previous week. The index declined after six consecutive weeks of gains, mainly due to low demand for US-bound cargo.
This suggests that the recent surge in US imports, triggered by the temporary halt of higher US tariffs, is unlikely to have the lasting impact initially anticipated.
Drewry WCI fell 7.45 per cent to $3,279 per FEU on June 19, its 1st decline in over a month, due to weaker US-bound demand. Despite recent drops, spot rates remain significantly higher than six weeks ago. Drewry forecasts softening in the supply-demand balance in the second half of 2025, with rate volatility likely influenced by legal challenges to tariffs and new US penalties on Chinese vessels.
Freight rates from Shanghai to New York fell 10 per cent to $6,584 per 40-foot container over the past week. However, spot rates remain significantly higher—up 81 per cent compared to six weeks ago (May 8). Rates to Los Angeles dropped 20 per cent this week but have risen 73 per cent over the same six-week period.
Meanwhile, freight rates increased from Shanghai to Rotterdam by 12 per cent to $3,171, and from Shanghai to Genoa by 1 per cent to $4,075 per 40-foot container.
However, Drewry's Container Forecaster expects the supply-demand balance to weaken again in the second half of the current year, likely causing spot rates to decline. The volatility and timing of rate changes will depend on the outcomes of legal challenges to Trump's tariffs and on capacity shifts related to the introduction of US penalties on Chinese ships—factors that remain uncertain.
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