Drewry: World Container Index rises 5 percent this week

The composite World Container Index (WCI), which aggregates container freight rates on eight major routes to/from the U.S., Europe and Asia, is up 5 percent from last week, but still down 23 percent compared with the same 2016 period, according to Drewry.    The World Container Index, a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to/from the U.S., Europe and Asia, rose 5 percent this week to $1,195 per 40 ft. container (FEU), according to U.K.-based Drewry Shipping Consultants, which assesses the WCI.
   Although the composite index is up 5 percent from last week, it’s still down 23 percent compared with the same period in 2016, Drewry data show.
   The average composite index of the WCI, assessed by Drewry for year-to-date, is $1,461 per FEU, which is $131 lower than the five-year average of $1,593 per FEU, as well as 23 percent lower than a year ago.
   Rates on the Asia-Europe and transpacific routes increased this week on the back of the mid-December general rate increases, Drewry found. The WCI on the Shanghai-Rotterdam route gained $118 from last week, to reach $1,494 per FEU. Similarly, rates on the Shanghai-Los Angeles route rose $77 to $1,154 per FEU.
   “Drewry expects these gains to erode in the coming weeks until the pre-Chinese New Year demand spike in January lifts rates,” the shipping consultancy explained in a statement.