Driven by a series of GRI freight rate hikes in mid December, trans Pacific container spot freight rates have risen significantly this week.
After the Drury World Container Index recorded a 26% weekly increase in spot prices, shippers on the trans Pacific eastbound route from Asia to the West Coast of the United States found that a large container (40 foot container) had to pay nearly $1000 more.
The WCI Shanghai to Los Angeles route has increased by $913 per box, closing at $4499/FEU this week.
Shippers in the eastern United States and along the Gulf Coast of Mexico are also facing similar price increases, with WCI's Shanghai New York route rising 17% last week to close at $6074/FEU.
Although Shanghai New York freight rates rose slightly last week, this week's increase in Shanghai Los Angeles freight rates is the first increase in weeks.
Meanwhile, the Xeneta XSI short-term index tracking these two trans Pacific routes recorded a 10% weekly increase, reaching $4391 per FEU.
A series of GRI and other planned surcharges in January may lead to a significant increase in trans Pacific spot freight rates once again
Analysts say, "Drury expects trans Pacific trade freight rates to increase in the coming week due to the upcoming ILA port strike in January and the expectation of tariff hikes after the Trump administration takes office
According to sources, many trans Pacific shipping companies have submitted January 1st GRI to FMC: COSCO, EVA, Hapag Lloyd, HMM, and YML have a target of $3000/FEU; CMA CGM and ZIM will levy $2000/FEU; ONE focuses on $1000/FEU.
At the same time, spot freight rates for transatlantic shipping companies are also rising, with WCI's Rotterdam New York route up 3% last week, closing at $2713/FEU, up about 83% year-on-year. The price of XSI's transatlantic section has increased by 3% per week, reaching $2814/FEU.
MSC recently announced that it will increase the planned EOS from Nordic to the United States from $1000/FEU to $2500 starting from January 18th. If other shipping companies follow the example of Mediterranean Shipping (MSC), transatlantic spot freight rates may further increase next month. Given that the transatlantic route network will begin restructuring services in 2025, it is expected that there will be operational disruptions in the first few months of next year. Therefore, MSC announced an increase in EOS from January 18th until further notice.
Of course, the implementation date of the plan is about three days after the negotiation deadline of ILA-USMX on January 15th, so transatlantic shippers still have many important variables to consider.
For Asia Europe shipping companies, this has been a relatively calm week, with WCI Shanghai Rotterdam port spot freight rates falling 1% to $4819/FEU, reversing last week's slight increase due to global climate change.
WCI's Shanghai Genoa branch also fell 2% to $5424/FEU.
As usual, most shippers and freight forwarders should have already concluded their annual tariff negotiations with carriers on the Asia Europe route. But this year, both carriers and 3PLs expect most shippers to sign these agreements in the first quarter of next year.
