Freight rates continue to soar, reaching a maximum of nearly $13,000. Shipowners have collectively raised freight rates, effective in July.
Sunny Worldwide LogisticsIt is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, focusing on markets such as Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~
As the traditional peak season starts ahead of schedule, the Red Sea crisis continues to disrupt the global shipping capacity pattern, and a number of leading liner companies have intensively launched a new round of price increases, freight rates on the main routes in Europe and the United States have continued to rise.
According to the latest data released by Drewry on June 11, the World Container Freight Index (WCI) continued its upward trend.At the same time, shipping giants such as Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, and CMA CGM have successively announced the latest freight rates and surcharge plans for July. The actual booking costs of some Asia-Europe and Mediterranean routes have climbed to highs in recent years, with comprehensive costs approaching US,000/FEU.
Peak season starts early, east-west freight rates continue to rise
The latest WCI composite index rose 3% from the previous week to ,549/FEU (40-foot container). Drewry pointed out that this year’s global container shipping peak season is significantly earlier than in previous years, which has become an important factor in pushing up freight rates.
On the trans-Pacific route, the spot freight rate from Shanghai to New York increased by 7% on the week to US,870/FEU; the spot freight rate from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased by 3% on the week to US,683/FEU. According to data from Drewry's "Container Capacity Insight", there will be only three suspended sailings on the trans-Pacific route in the coming week, indicating that market capacity will generally remain stable.
The current demand growth mainly comes from three aspects: early shipments triggered by the possible adjustment of tariff policies in the United States in July, increased demand for 2026 World Cup-related goods, and early release of traditional peak season shipments.
At the same time, Maersk announced that it will impose a peak season surcharge (PSS) starting from June 17, with the standards being US,000 per 20-foot container and US,000 per 40-foot container.Drewry expects that with the peak season in full swing, trans-Pacific shipping rates will still have room to rise in the coming weeks.
Asia-Europe routes also performed strongly. Over the past week, the freight rate from Shanghai to Rotterdam has increased by 5% to US,768/FEU, and the freight rate from Shanghai to Genoa has increased by 1% to US,139/FEU.The market generally believes that cargo owners arranged shipments in advance before the fuel cost adjustment in July, which promoted the significant growth in cargo volume in June.In addition, the Red Sea crisis has caused a large number of ships to continue to detour around the Cape of Good Hope, and the extended voyage has further occupied the market's effective shipping capacity and also provided support for rising freight rates.
The three major shipping companies intensively released price increase plans for July
While the spot market continues to strengthen, leading liner companies have begun to prepare in advance for the increase in freight rates in July.
CMA CGM has recently issued multiple freight rate adjustment notices.According to the latest plan, starting from early July, the FAK (flat rate) on the route from Asia to Northern Europe will be increased to US,300/40-foot container, and a peak season surcharge (PSS) of up to US,000/40-foot container will be added. The adjustment for the Mediterranean route is even more obvious. Calculated based on CMA CGM’s announced charging standards: the comprehensive cost of the Western Mediterranean route can reach about US,500/40HC, the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea routes can reach about US,300/40HC, and some routes in North Africa and Algeria can reach a maximum of US,000/40HC. CMA CGM stated that relevant surcharges will be incorporated into the freight rate system and implemented in accordance with regulations.
Mediterranean Shipping Company also announced the latest FAK standards in early July.Among them, the FAK price of 40-foot containers from Asia to Northern Europe, the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea routes reaches 7,500 US dollars; the freight rate of 40-foot containers from Asia to North African markets such as Algeria and Tunisia reaches 9,500 to 9,900 US dollars. In addition, customers also need to bear additional costs related to environmental protection and carbon emissions, including carbon low surcharge (CLS) and carbon regulatory surcharge (CRS).
Maersk announced, starting from July 1st (from July 10th for goods shipped from South Korea), peak season surcharges will be levied on routes from the Far East to Europe and the Mediterranean, covering a variety of box types such as general containers, refrigerated containers and special containers. The charging standards are: an additional US0 for a 20-foot box, and an additional US,000 for a 40-foot and 45-foot box. Judging from the information released so far, major shipping companies on European and Mediterranean routes have formed a strong consensus on price increases, and there is limited room for market freight rate corrections in the short term.
Three major driving factors behind rising freight rates
This round of rise is not simply driven by shipping companies, but is the result of the superposition of multiple factors:
First, the peak season starts early.Driven by Amazon Prime Day, TikTok's mid-year promotions, and the early replenishment needs of European and American retailers, demand in this year's peak season has moved forward significantly compared with previous years.
Second, the Red Sea crisis continues.A large number of ships on the Asia-Europe route continue to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope, with the voyage length increasing by 10 to 15 days. Effective shipping capacity continues to be consumed, and the market supply and demand relationship is tightening.
Third, the energy cost pressure caused by the situation in the Middle East.Recently, geopolitical risks in the Middle East have continued to rise, and market expectations for rising fuel prices have increased, driving up fuel surcharges (BAF) and overall operating costs. Data show that China's PMI purchasing price index has continued to remain high since the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, currently reaching 60.5, reflecting that corporate procurement cost pressure is increasing.
Outlook
Judging from the current market situation, three major factors are still at play: the release of peak season demand, the continued diversion of the Red Sea, and the initiative of shipping companies to push up prices. Drewry expects that freight rates on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes will continue to rise in the coming weeks.
For freight forwarders and export companies, July to August may become one of the most volatile periods in freight rates this year. Especially in the European, Mediterranean and North African markets, as the new round of FAK and PSS take effect one after another, the actual booking cost may continue to rise. Relevant companies need to make space and cost planning in advance to cope with market changes in peak seasons.
