Record Spread Between Asia-US East Coast and Asia-North Europe Container Freight Rates

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 6, Sea-Intelligence calculated, based on Drewry World Container Index weekly spot data from May 2012 to October 2026, that the freight rate spread between the Asia-US East Coast and Asia-North Europe routes rose to $7,026 per 40-foot container, surpassing the previous record of $3,179 set in June 2021. Rates on the Asia-US East Coast route remained at a high level, while the Asia-North Europe route continued to decline.

Drewry data from October 1 showed that the Shanghai-New York spot rate rose 1% week on week to $10,428 per 40-foot container; Shanghai-Los Angeles held at $7,835. Over the same period, Shanghai-Rotterdam fell 2% to $3,399, Shanghai-Genoa fell 3% to $3,702, and the Drewry World Container Index fell 1% overall to $4,434.

Sea-Intelligence's calculations also showed that the freight rate spread between the Asia-US West Coast and Asia-North Europe routes reached $4,436 per 40-foot container; the spread between the Mediterranean and the US East Coast reached $6,726, also exceeding the previous record of $2,828 set in June 2021. At certain points in 2021, the direction of the spread was opposite to the current one, with the North Europe route at higher price levels relative to the US routes at that time.

Effective capacity on the Asia-Europe route increased over the same period. Sea-Intelligence previously calculated that in the four weeks around China's 2026 National Day Golden Week, planned weekly capacity on the Asia-North Europe route totaled about 1.5 million TEU, up 27% year on year and 60% above the pre-pandemic average; planned capacity in the Golden Week week and the following week increased 63% and 39% year on year, respectively.

Drewry disclosed on October 1 that 10 blank sailings were planned for the transpacific route the following week, down from 13 that week; factory shutdowns during China's Golden Week will reduce short-term cargo volumes, and Drewry expects transpacific freight rates may subsequently decline. On the Asia-Europe route, spot prices from Shanghai to Rotterdam and Genoa have already come under continued pressure.

Container shipping no longer operates like a broadly synchronized global market, with the main east-west routes rising and falling together. Capacity discipline, geopolitical risks, trade policy, vessel deployment, and regional demand are creating an increasingly divergent pricing environment. At present, the $7,026 per-container spread between Asia-US East Coast and Asia-North Europe is the clearest evidence. Global container shipping companies are effectively operating in two very different markets at the same time: one where capacity is scarce and pricing power is approaching pandemic-era levels; another where extra capacity is pushing freight rates steadily lower. For shippers, the geography of trade has rarely mattered as much to container shipping costs as it does now.