Drewry: World Container Index Down 10% Last Week

Drewry’s World Container Index decreased 10% to $2,212 per 40ft container this week.

Our detailed assessment for Thursday, 22 Jan 2026

• The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) decreased 10% to $2,212 per 40ft container for the second consecutive week, primarily due to a drop in rates on the Transpacific and Asia–Europe trade routes.
• Spot rates on Shanghai to New York decreased 11% to $3,191 per 40ft container and those from Shanghai to Los Angeles fell 12% to $2,546 per 40ft container. Carriers increased blank sailings this week to counter softening demand following the end of the Chinese New Year cargo rush. Drewry expects freight rates to decline further in the coming weeks.
• Spot rates on key Asia–Europe trade routes continued to decrease for the second consecutive week, with Shanghai–Rotterdam dropping 9% to $2,510 per 40ft container and Shanghai–Genoa falling 8% to $3,520. Amid declining rates, carriers are adopting divergent strategies for the Suez Canal: CMA CGM is switching 3 Asia–Europe services from the Suez route to the Cape of Good Hope route, while Maersk plans to resume its scheduled service from India to the USEC via the canal starting 26 January.
• These conflicting operational decisions suggest that effective shipping capacity will be reintroduced to the market gradually rather than all at once. This ‘drip-feed’ approach allows carriers to carefully assess risk and adjust their future networks, preventing a catastrophic collapse in spot rates.

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).