The container shipping market ushered in "three consecutive rises", and the surge in shipments before the Spring Festival pushed up the freight rates of major routes.
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As the Lunar New Year approaches, the container shipping market is experiencing a small peak in shipments as scheduled.
The latest data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (December 26) showed that the Shanghai Export Container Freight Index (SCFI) rose by 103.64 points to close at 1656.32 points, an increase of 6.66%, successfully achieving a third consecutive week of increases.
This rise was led by ocean trunk lines, reflecting that the shipping company's price increase plan in mid-December has basically been implemented with the support of pre-holiday cargo volume, and market sentiment has recovered significantly.
All major routes are booming, with European and European routes performing strongly
The increase in freight index in this period is universal, with all four major ocean routes rising.
European and Mediterranean routes have seen the sharpest increases, with increases exceeding 10% each. Specifically, the freight rate for Shanghai's exports to European basic ports was US,690/TEU, a weekly increase of 10.24%; the freight rate to the Mediterranean basic ports was US,143/TEU, a weekly increase of 10.94%.
Analysts believe that in addition to shipment demand before the Spring Festival, continued operating pressure at some European ports has also provided additional support for freight rates.
North American routes also maintained their upward momentum. The freight rate for Shanghai exports to the basic port in the west of the United States is US,188/FEU, an increase of 9.84%; the freight rate to the basic port in the east of the US is US,033/FEU, an increase of 6.57%.
Although the overall cargo volume of the US line is under pressure due to the impact of the external trade environment, the concentrated shipments before the Spring Festival still create short-term demand and support the rebound in freight rates.
The current market spot price is roughly maintained at US,000-2,100 in the West and US,850-3,050 in the East.
The market is divided due to the traditional "rush to work and shipment" trend.
The core reason for this round of continuous increases in freight rates is the traditional "rush for work and shipments" before the Lunar New Year. In response to factory holidays, cargo owners have arranged shipping plans in advance, thus pushing up short-term space demand. This seasonal effect is particularly evident on ocean trunk lines.
However, the market is not fully prosperous, but presents a significant differentiation pattern. In contrast to the popularity of European and American routes, the performance of some routes was mediocre. For example, although the freight rate on the South American route stopped falling and stabilized, it only rose slightly by 0.08%, indicating that the support for shipments is still weak. This differentiation highlights the structural changes in current global trade flows: Affected by the diversification of supply chains, the cargo volume of near-ocean routes such as Southeast Asia has increased significantly, partially diverting the supply of cargo from traditional trunk routes.
In the last few weeks before the Spring Festival, the market generally expects freight rates to maintain a moderate upward trend. Many shipping companies have announced plans to implement a new round of comprehensive rate increases (GRI) on January 1, 2026, and are building momentum for further increases in freight rates in the first half of January. Among them, the US West Line targets a rise to US,000/FEU, the US East Line targets US,900/FEU, and the European Line is expected to increase by approximately US,000. This has injected strong expectations of price increases into the market.
There are still variables in the final price increase. There are already signs that some shipping companies have differentiated their quotation strategies in order to obtain spot cargo, which may weaken the overall price increase effect. For cargo owners and freight forwarders, it is important to pay close attention to shipping company dynamics and plan space and logistics plans in advance during the peak shipping period before the holidays.
