Freight rates rise for the third week, with the Shanghai Export Containerized Freight Index reaching 3681.34 points on October 23.
On October 23, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange released the Shanghai Export Containerized Freight Index at 3681.34 points, up 1.76 points from the previous period, a weekly increase of 0.05%, marking a third consecutive week of slight gains. Judging from the index, the container shipping market as a whole has not clearly weakened, but differences in supply and demand across trade lanes have become more pronounced: gains on the Europe route have slowed, U.S. routes have pulled back from high levels, and the South America route has seen a more noticeable decline. Behind the slight uptick in the freight index lies more of a structural divergence between routes rather than broad-based strength across all lanes.
On U.S. routes, freight from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast base ports stood at $7,521/FEU, down 0.05% week on week; freight from Shanghai to the U.S. East Coast base ports stood at $10,388/FEU, down 0.16% week on week. Both the East Coast and West Coast routes have now declined for a second straight week, though the scale of the drop was smaller than in the prior period. Overall, freight rates on U.S. routes remain at relatively high levels, and the pullback appears more like consolidation after earlier gains. The next move will depend on factors such as cargo volume support in the late peak season, carriers' capacity management, and port operating efficiency.
On Europe routes, freight from Shanghai to European base ports stood at $2,351/TEU, up 0.69% week on week; freight from Shanghai to Mediterranean base ports stood at $3,255/TEU, up 0.15% week on week. Notably, the Mediterranean route rose by $248 in the previous period, but only by $5 this period, so whether there is enough momentum for follow-through increases after the recent price hike remains uncertain. Although Europe routes are still edging upward, the narrower gains suggest limited market acceptance of further rate hikes. Whether carriers can successfully push rates higher will still depend on booking conditions and actual cargo volumes.
Performance on other routes was mixed. Freight from Shanghai to Persian Gulf base ports stood at $6,499/TEU, up 0.39% week on week, extending its slight rise from already high levels; freight from Shanghai to Australia/New Zealand base ports stood at $2,542/TEU, down 0.43% week on week; freight from Shanghai to South America base ports stood at $5,053/TEU, down 8.61% week on week, the biggest pullback among major routes this week. The sharp decline on the South America route reflects a rebalancing between supply-demand conditions and previously elevated freight levels.
On intra-Asia routes, freight from Shanghai to Southeast Asia base ports stood at $1,146/TEU, down $10, or 0.87% week on week; freight from Shanghai to South Korea stood at $376/TEU, up $11, or 3.0% week on week; freight from Shanghai to Japan's Kansai and Kanto regions stood at $326/TEU and $335/TEU, respectively.
DHL Global Forwarding noted in an October 19 analysis that global port congestion amounts to about 3.8 million TEU, and severe weather events have worsened vessel backlogs and schedule disruptions, with on-time vessel arrivals at some major gateway ports falling below one-third. Port congestion affects not only schedule reliability, but can also increase costs elsewhere in the supply chain through port delays, rolled cargo, and poor transshipment connections. For freight forwarders and cargo owners, current freight-rate changes should be assessed together with schedule stability, port operating efficiency, and destination-port connectivity, rather than relying solely on index movements to judge actual transportation costs.
Companies with near-term shipping plans are advised to check the latest sailing schedules in advance, verify booked voyages, cargo cut-off times, and destination-port operating conditions, and arrange shipments accordingly. For routes with larger freight fluctuations, rates should be confirmed shipment by shipment in conjunction with specific carrier quotations, surcharge structures, and contract terms, while allowing sufficient transit buffer time to reduce the risk of delays and extra costs.