World Container Index – 14 Aug
For many years, World Container Index has been the go-to, independent, global reference for index-linked contracts. If your organisation is considering index-linked contracts or requires regional visibility/coverage beyond the eight trade lanes provided below, contact our ocean freight cost benchmarking team.
Drewry’s World Container Index decreased 3% to $2,350 per 40ft container this week.
Source: Drewry World Container Index, Drewry Supply Chain Advisors
Our detailed assessment for Thursday, 14 Aug 2025
- Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) declined for nine consecutive weeks and continued to stabilise after a volatile period. The unpredictability began after US tariffs were announced in April, which caused rates to surge from May through early June. Subsequently, the market saw a huge decline until mid-July, before the downward trend lost momentum and the rate of decrease slowed considerably.
- Transpacific spot rates fell this week, as rates on Shanghai–Los Angeles fell 2% ($2,494/feu) and those on Shanghai–New York 5% ($3,638/feu). Since the big rush to ship cargo before the tariff increase is now over, Drewry expects spot rates to be less volatile in the coming week.
- Drewry’s Container Forecaster expects the supply-demand balance to weaken again in 2H25, which will cause spot rates to contract. The volatility and timing of rate changes will depend on Trump’s future tariffs and on capacity changes related to the introduction of US penalties on Chinese ships, which are uncertain.
Spot freight rates by major route
Our assessment across eight major East-West trades:
Ocean spot market freight rates against 6,700 global port pairs
If you need spot market container freight rate information on other routes to those above, find out more about our Container Freight Rate Insight (CFRI) online service, which covers 6,700 global port pairs updated monthly (2,450 updated fortnightly).
