For many years, World Container Index (WCI) 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 5% to $2,107 per 40ft container this week.
Our detailed assessment for Thursday, 29 Jan 2026
The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) decreased 5% to $2,107 per 40ft container for the third 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 7% to $2,969 per 40ft container and those on Shanghai to Los Angeles fell 4% to $2,442 per 40ft container. According to Container Capacity Insight, carriers have announced 63 blank sailings in February, up from 27 in January, as demand remains weak ahead of the Chinese New Year factory closure. Drewry expects spot rates to continue to decrease further in the coming weeks.
Spot rates on Asia–Europe trade routes continued to decrease for the third consecutive week, with rates on Shanghai–Rotterdam dropping 5% to $2,379 per 40ft container and those on Shanghai–Genoa falling 6% to $3,293. Amid declining rates, carriers are adopting divergent strategies for the Suez Canal: CMA CGM is withdrawing its Asia–Europe services from the region, while Maersk plans to resume its scheduled service from India to the US East Coast via the canal. 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
Source: Drewry World Container Index, Drewry Supply Chain Advisors
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). Source: Drewry
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