Drewry: World Container Index inches up 2.4%

General rate increases from Asia to the U.S. East Coast gathered traction this week, with the Shanghai-New York trade strengthening by 18 percent from last week to reach $2,869 per FEU, Drewry reported.    The World Container Index (WCI) – a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to and from the United States, Europe and Asia – is up by 2.4 percent this week to $1,440.99 per FEU, according to London-based industry analyst Drewry Shipping Consultants.
   Although the composite index is up by 2.4 percent this week, it’s down by 22.2 percent from the same period in 2017, the analyst’s data shows.
   The average composite index of the WCI, assessed by Drewry for year-to-date, is $1,420 per FEU, which is $162 per FEU lower than the five-year average of $1,581 per FEU.
   General rate increases from Asia to the U.S. East Coast gathered traction this week, Drewry said, with the WCI on the Shanghai-New York trade strengthening by $429 per FEU to reach $2,869 per FEU.
   Meanwhile, rate hikes during the first week of January to the U.S. West Coast crumbled, and rates on the Shanghai-Los Angeles trade lost $51 per FEU this week.
   Rates on the Asia-North Europe route were stable this week, while rates on the Shanghai-Genoa trade rose by $61 per FEU to reach $1,491 per FEU.
   “We expect the demand spike before the Chinese New Year holidays to result in a volley of rate hike attempts from carriers,” Drewry said in a statement.
   Chinese New Year, during which some factories in Asian countries cease production for up to two weeks, begins Feb. 16.