Rates for shipping containers from Asia to the US were mostly lower this week as capacity increased across most trade lanes and overall demand remains relatively weak.

Rates from ocean and freight rate analytics firm Xeneta fell this week, as shown in the following chart.

Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, said market sentiment is playing a role in container rates.

“Market sentiment is a powerful force in container shipping, and we see this right now in the spread in spot rates between the Asia trades into the US West Coast and US East Coast,” Sand said. “The US West Coast trade is more sensitive to market sentiment than the US East Coast when it comes to US-China geopolitics. The sentiment effect of the 12-month lowering of US-China tariffs and suspension of port fees earlier in November means spot rates into the US West Coast are holding a little stronger.”

Sand said that increased capacity along all routes is weighing on rates.

“Taking a wider view, container shipping offered capacity is increasing on all fronthaul trades and this will have an impact on rates, with carriers likely having less success with GRIs (general rate increases) than they did in October and early November,” Sand said.

Rates from global logistics company Freight Right on its TrueFreight Index (TFX) showed weekly decreases, as shown in the following chart.

Robert Khachatryan, founder and CEO of Freight Right Logistics, said the gap between special rates being issued to freight forwarders from carriers and the carriers’ fixed advertised rate continued to shrink.

“Week to week there is now only about a $100/FEU difference between special and advertised USWC and USEC rates,” Khachatryan.

Rates from supply chain advisors Drewry fell to both coasts, and Drewry expects rates to soften or hold steady in the near term.

“Although carriers were able to briefly sustain rates using GRIs, that impact proved short-lived as rates softened this week due to waning demand, with retailers having already imported their holiday season merchandise,” Drewry said.

Spot rates on the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which tracks rates for containers leaving Shanghai, fell this week for the second week in a row after rising for the previous four weeks.

Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers.

They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks.

LIQUID TANKER RATES UNCHANGED
US chemical tanker spot rates were overall steady this week for most trade lanes, while vessel demand continues to remain soft for various routes.

There was an uptick on cargoes from various regions to Montreal as shippers work to deliver and pick up material before the ice season closes for winter transit and soon will require ice class vessels.

The US Gulf to ARA remains soft and solid for contractual cargoes and as CPP (clean petroleum products) tonnage continues to participate in the chemical sector. If it persists it could continue to pressure the market even further.

There was some styrene, caustic soda, molasses and lube oils fixed in this direction. Meanwhile, even though the proposed port fees on Chinese vessels have been suspended for one year, it should take a few months before we see those vessels enter back into this trade lane.

For the US Gulf to Asia trade lane, spot volumes continue to be weak as there seems to be limited prompt space available. However, any spot activity remains largely focused on cargoes to southeast Asia.

Mainly parcels of monoethylene glycols (MEG), ethanol and methanol to this region seem to have provided any support to the weak market.

From the USG to Brazil, there has been steady volume of spot enquiries and fixtures along this route, however, freight rates have not climbed higher as there is plenty of space available. Base oils and lube oils seem to be the most actively seen in the market.

The USG to India route has not seen a significant uptick in inquiries over the last week with no confirmed fixtures. There were only a few inquiries about glycols and ethanol seen with the for November and December dates.

Bunker prices remain stable mainly due to the continued volatility in energy prices week on week.

Source: By Adam Yanelli, Additional reporting by Kevin Callahan, ICIS (https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2025/11/14/11156137/asia-us-container-rates-mostly-lower-as-carriers-increase-capacity-along-most-trade-lanes/)