With rates recovering for a second straight week, carriers are positioning November pricing through blank sailings. According to Drewry's cancelled-sailings tracker (as carried by ChuhaiWang, EEnnews and other industry media on October 31), weeks 44-48 — October 26 to November 30 — see 714 planned sailings on major east-west trade lanes, of which 56 are expected to be blanked, an 8% blank rate, with about 92% of scheduled services operating. Asia-North Europe and the Mediterranean account for 54% of the expected blanks, transpacific eastbound 32% and transatlantic 14% — the deepest capacity management is on Asia-Europe.
On rates, Drewry's October 22 WCI assessment rose 2% to USD 4,585/FEU, a second consecutive weekly gain: Shanghai-Rotterdam at USD 3,632/FEU (+3%), Shanghai-Genoa at USD 4,152/FEU (+5%), Shanghai-Los Angeles at USD 8,007/FEU (+2%) and Shanghai-New York at USD 10,166/FEU (+1%) (all Drewry-basis reference rates). On the carrier side, MSC has published new FAK rates for Far East to North Europe and the Mediterranean for November 1-14; CMA CGM's parallel notice shows Asia-export FAK reference rates of USD 4,900 per 40-ft box to the West Mediterranean, USD 5,200 to East Med/Black Sea and USD 7,100 to North Africa for the same window.
Whether the posted FAK rates actually stick is another question. The Loadstar, citing Linerlytica, notes that spot rates in some markets still sit below what the indices reflect, and European forwarders report discount deals below FAK levels. For shippers, rather than watching only indices or announcements, the practical move is to verify executable rates, sailing dates and port calls shipment by shipment against your own volumes and booking conditions.
For the China-Japan ocean freight lane, this round of blank sailings has limited direct impact: the near-sea Japan trade is run by an independent fleet of small vessels and sits outside the Asia-Europe and transpacific blank programmes, so rates should keep trading in a narrow band. Two cautions remain: rollover and re-accommodation pressure in the deep-sea peak can spill over slightly through vessel allocation, with occasional loading delays on services sharing tonnage; and Japan's year-end logistics shutdown (December 29 to January 3) concentrates the December shipping window into mid-to-late November — so keep booking Japan-lane space 7-10 days ahead and verify surcharge terms and quote validity on every shipment.
We offer one-stop service from anywhere in China to Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka and other major Japanese ports as well as inland destinations: ocean FCL/LCL, air freight, two-side customs clearance and door delivery. Check published rates via the rate calculator (https://www.4006519886.cn/smart-oa/price.php), track shipments (https://www.4006519886.cn/smart-oa/track.php), use online consultation — or click sales@ruixincargo.com to send your cargo details directly.