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FreightWaves SONAR platform now has Drewry’s world container indices

Photo: Jim Allen FreightWaves

International shipping has become one of the largest drivers of domestic shipping volumes in the United States over the past several years. Knowing when and where container volumes are moving can be a leading indicator of when domestic shipping volumes are going to create disruptions in the U.S. freight market. FreightWaves continues to add more visibility to this sector with the Drewry World Container indices.

Container volumes declined globally earlier this year according to the World Container Index that measures global container volumes. (Image: SONAR WCI.GLOBCOMP)

The Drewry World Container Index represents the average weekly spot rate for shipping a 40-foot container in seven of the United States’ largest maritime shipping routes. SONAR users will now have insight into lane specific rates in the following:

Los Angeles to Shanghai – LAXSHA

New York to Rotterdam – NYCRTM


Rotterdam to New York – RTMNYC

Shanghai to Genoa – SHAGOA

Shanghai to Los Angeles – SHALAX

Shanghai to New York – SHANYC


Shanghai to Rotterdam – SHARTM

Users will also be able to measure capacity or when demand is exceeding supply as well as general rate increases. When volumes surge in maritime lanes, as with trucking, the rates also increase. Increasing rates can be a leading indicator for increasing freight volumes entering the U.S., potentially creating market disruption.

The information is provided by Drewry, an well-respected independent research and consulting company with an international network of offices in London, Delhi, Singapore, and Shanghai.

Personal Consumption Expenditures: Durable Goods and Single Family Housing Units Sold

In addition to the Drewry WCI, SONAR users will also have access to two key macro-economic indicators, personal consumption expenditures in ($) billions (PCE.DG) and single family housing units sold in thousands (SFAMS.USA). Durable goods are what moves trucks. They are the reason for freight shipments as opposed to services which makes up most of the U.S. economy. Watching durable goods demand will help explain freight demand patterns in the broader economy. When expenditures for durable goods declines or flattens it is typically a sign of weakening economic conditions or a recession.

Single family housing units sold is a measure of housing demand, which drives a significant amount of freight in the U.S. It not only involves commodities like wood and building materials, but also furniture other finishing goods.

Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Zach Strickland, the “Sultan of SONAR,” curates the weekly market update. Zach is also one of FreightWaves’ Market Experts. With a degree in Finance, Strickland spent the early part of his career in banking before transitioning to transportation in various roles and segments, such as truckload and LTL. He has over 13 years of transportation experience, specializing in data, pricing, and analytics.