According to the Drewry WCI, the cost of delivering a 40-foot container to ports in both Northern and Southern Europe decreased in price by more than $300 during the two weeks of September. The subindex value for the indicative Shanghai-Rotterdam route was $1,300 per FEU on September 14, and it has lost 20% since the beginning of the month, while the Shanghai-Genoa subindex has decreased by 17% reaching $1,700. Shipping to the East Coast of the United States has become cheaper by more than $400 in the past two weeks.
The decrease in rates is due to the growth of tonnage supply in the conditions of intensified competition among operators. According to Sea-Intelligence, the aggregate tonnage on liner services on Asia-Europe routes has increased by 10% on average over the last 3 weeks, and by 27% on routes to Mediterranean ports. The carriers are planning to reduce the supply only by early October, when the demand in the market decreases as China goes on the autumn break. Until then, the rates will continue to decrease.