Drewry's World Container Index for October 15 rose 3% week over week to USD 4,485 per 40ft container, ending three consecutive weekly declines. Shanghai-Rotterdam climbed 6% to USD 3,522/FEU and Shanghai-Genoa 7% to USD 3,945/FEU, closing out a 13-week Asia-Europe slide; Shanghai-Los Angeles gained 3% to USD 7,884/FEU while Shanghai-New York slipped 1% to USD 10,075/FEU (all spot reference rates).
Rate hikes are landing in parallel: CMA CGM, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC have announced new FAK levels, mostly effective October 19. Per announcements compiled by CCPIT Zhejiang, Hapag-Lloyd quotes Far East-North Europe at USD 2,750/20ft and USD 4,200/40ft; MSC at USD 3,150/20ft and USD 4,500/40ft; CMA CGM Asia-West Mediterranean at USD 3,600/20ft and USD 4,600/40ft (all reference rates; actual deals subject to booking).
On capacity, carriers keep managing supply via blank sailings: Drewry counts 34 cancelled sailings on major east-west trades between October 12 and November 15, about 5% of scheduled departures, with the transpacific accounting for 32%. Drewry cautions, however, that resumed Suez transits and fewer blank sailings are returning effective capacity to Asia-Europe, making full FAK implementation uncertain; it expects rates to stay broadly stable next week.
What this means for the China-Japan lane: Japan-bound near-sea rates move relatively independently and do not track deep-sea FAK levels directly, but market sentiment, capacity shifts between deep-sea and intra-Asia trades, and fuel/surcharge policies do transmit indirectly. Last year's pattern — carrier rate announcements in late October stopping the slide, followed by a firmer November on blank sailings and pre-holiday stocking — is worth watching. Japan-bound shippers can use the current window to book 7-10 days ahead and lock space.
We hold stable allocations from Nansha, Shenzhen and Shanghai to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and other major Japanese ports — 3-7 days by air, 10-18 days by LCL, 9-10 days by FCL, with customs clearance and door delivery included. Use the buttons below for rate calculation, tracking or online consultation, or click sales@ruixincargo.com to inquire directly.