en.Wedoany.com Reported - Spot freight rates on transpacific and Asia-Europe routes have surged this week, with the peak season now in full swing.

Over the past few weeks, rising demand and tightening capacity have driven up pressure, with carriers leveraging the spot market to introduce a series of freight all kinds (FAK) rates and impose new peak season surcharges on contract shippers. The rate increases took effect on June 1, significantly impacting spot rate indices this week. Drewry's World Container Index (WCI) shows the Shanghai-Rotterdam leg rose 25% week-on-week to $3,579 per 40-foot container, while the Shanghai-Genoa route increased 20% to $5,089 per 40-foot container.

As previously reported by The Loadstar, the surge in demand in June is partly due to contract shippers shipping early to avoid the third-quarter bunker adjustment factors (BAF) announced by carriers for July 1. These factors are expected to rise significantly due to increased fuel costs from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A major European freight forwarder told The Loadstar that extended transit times on Asia-Europe routes have become the norm, with customers receiving goods early to avoid delays caused by poor schedule reliability. He explained that demand has clearly risen, with customer volumes increasing earlier than expected, bringing peak season demand forward. He added that while shippers and forwarders may be surprised by this month's price surge, subsequent increases may be more moderate.

He noted that the expectation for the second half of June is an increase of around $500 per TEU compared to the first half; at this stage, he believes most carriers will not adjust by more than this level in a single move. Although slot allocations have not been reduced, rollovers have occurred, with June capacity fully booked and available slots extremely limited. This aligns with further rate increases announced by carriers, such as Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk introducing new Asia-Europe peak season surcharges (PSS) on June 8 and 10, ranging from $300 to $500 per TEU. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) shows the Shanghai-North Europe leg rising 4% and the Shanghai-Mediterranean leg rising 1.5% in the coming week.

Transpacific routes saw even larger increases, with the Shanghai-Los Angeles leg rising 31% week-on-week to $4,565 per 40-foot container, and the Shanghai-New York route rising 20% to $5,505 per 40-foot container. Drewry stated that since the Lunar New Year, rates on this route have been supported by carriers' strict capacity management, with recent additional demand drivers including shippers booking early in response to US tariff changes in July and World Cup-related cargo demand. Retailers are also replenishing inventory early in preparation for sales events in June and July. Drewry expects further upward pressure on rates in the coming weeks as the peak season arrives.

CMA CGM announced a rate increase of $2,600 per 40-foot container on the East Mediterranean-US East Coast transatlantic route from July 1, and plans to raise rates by $600 per 40-foot container on North Europe-North America route cargo on July 2. This week's WCI Rotterdam-New York rate stands at $2,560 per 40-foot container, up 5% from the previous week.

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