Eng
The spot market has been trending down for three months: Drewry WCI, a weighted average of spot container freight rates, has lost 42% since its peak on 12 June.
The cost of delivering a 40-foot container on European routes has been plummeting on the spot market, with indices for Mediterranean and North Sea ports down by around 10% over the past week and by over 30% since early July.
With European exports in decline and imports growing, the cost of delivering a loaded container along the indicative route from Rotterdam to Shanghai has fallen by 11% over the past three months.
By contrast, rates for shipping from Asia to North America have been rising for two weeks in a row: compared to late August, rates for ports on both coasts have increased by around 15%. However, current levels remain half of those seen in mid-June.