Rates rebound as blank voyages strategy starts to pay off for carriers

Spot container freight rates on the largest deepsea trades rebounded this week, despite continuing weak demand, suggesting recent capacity cuts have begun to reverse months of pricing decline.

According to the Freightos FBX index, Asia-US west coast rates increased 11% week on week, to $2,763 per 40ft, which is around 80% lower than the same time last year.

“Ocean rates out of Asia were stable overall again this week – though Asia to US west coast prices ticked up and are now level with prices in early October – suggesting the sharp drop off that began this summer may be levelling out, as capacity is removed to meet falling demand,” said Freightos lead analyst Judah Levine.

Meanwhile, Sea-Intelligence data suggests both recent and forthcoming capacity cuts on the transpacific, through to the end of the year, may have an effect on price levels.

“Basically, what we see here is that the number of blank sailings have been ramped up drastically on the transpacific, but not so much on Asia-Europe,” said Alan Murphy, CEO at Sea-Intelligence.