Drewry: World container index down 9.4% this week

The index, a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to/from the U.S., Europe and Asia, is also down 9 percent compared with the same period in 2016, according to London-based maritime consultant Drewry.    The World Container Index, a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to/from the U.S., Europe and Asia, fell 9.4 percent this week to $1374.8 USD per 40-foot container, independent maritime research consultancy Drewry said Nov. 9.
   Additionally, the composite index is down 9 percent from the same period of 2016, according to Drewry.
   The average composite index of the WCI for the year-to-date is $1,499/40 ft. container, which is $111 lower than the five-year average of $1,610/40ft container, according to Drewry data.
   Rate gains made during the first week of November on routes originating from Asia faded in the second week of the month, statistics show. Notably, the World Container Index between Shanghai and Rotterdam lost $157 from the previous week to $1,559 for a 40-ft. container. Rates are now nine percent less than in the same period in 2016.
   Rates on the Transpacific route also followed a downward trajectory this week, according to Drewry, with the WCI between Shanghai and Los Angeles down five percent, or $77 USD, from the previous week to $1,557 per FEU.
   Rates on this route are 20 percent weaker than in the same period in 2016, Drewry said in its analysis, while also explaining that the decline was higher on the Shanghai-New York route, where rates diminished by $290, or 12 percent, from the first week of this month to reach $2,114 per FEU.
   Rates are expected to head south again next week, Drewry said, as carriers are poised to shelve general rate increases that had been set for Nov. 15.