Freight 101 Blog

Global shipping crisis impact infographic on the Red Sea event

Air cargo still elevated despite recent rate drops

Stay up to date with the latest air cargo, ocean freight, and international shipping news with Freightos.com.

Dylan Sommer

Weekly highlights

Ocean rates continued to slide this week, but continued elevated rates for secondhand and chartered container ships show ocean carriers are still looking for capacity.

Carriers have also scheduled 20% more transpacific capacity through October compared to last year, suggesting carriers do not expect a collapse in volumes. 

These moves also suggest that carriers don’t anticipate port congestion to dissipate anytime soon: though trucker protests in Oakland were no longer impacting operations by the start of the week, congestion at inland rail hubs are creating a container backlog in LA/Long Beach, and a buildup of empty containers is slowing operations on the East Coast.  

In air shipping news, Freightos.com marketplace air cargo rates show China – US West Coast prices have fallen 15% in the last month in what is typically a slow season for transpacific air, though rates are still about twice the pre-pandemic norm.  

With the return of transatlantic passenger travel the Freightos Air Index shows Europe – US East Coast prices are 28% lower than a year ago, but still about 50% higher than normal due to added fuel costs and labor shortages. 

Asia-US rates for this week

  • Asia-US West Coast prices (FBX01 Daily) fell 6% to $6,593/FEU. This rate is 64% lower than the same time last year.
  • Asia-US East Coast prices (FBX03 Daily) increased 4% to $10,316/FEU, and are 47% lower than rates for this week last year.

Check in next week for more real-time freight market updates to help you ship smoother.

More rates from Freightos.com

Containerized Freight Rates from the Freightos Baltic Index
FBX LaneGlobalAsia – US West CoastAsia –US East CoastAsia – North EuropeNorth Europe – US East Coast
This Week$6,159$6,593$10,316$9,641$8,423
Last Week-3%-6%4%-7%0%
Last Year*-39%-64%-47%-30%40%
* Compared to the corresponding week in 2021

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