According to the logistics firm Freightos, the spot rate for the cost for a 40-foot container to the U.S. West Coast from Asia jumped 13.4% to $4,915 in the week ended May 26, marking the fifth straight weekly advance. That’s triple what it was in late December.
Data from Xeneta, a container shipping information service, show how the challenges on the Panama Canal route have pushed up prices. Spot rates were $5,584 per 40-foot container between Asia and the U.S. East Coast on May 16, more than twice the $2,434 cost in the year ago period.
In addition, the average cost of shipping a 40-foot container between the Far East and northern Europe at short notice – the figure that is most sensitive to market prices – hit $4,343 last week, roughly three times higher than the same period last year, according to Xeneta.
Keep in mind that this is happening now, during spring, which is normally a quiet time in the shipping industry. Typically, the peak period occurs between late summer and autumn, when retailers start importing goods for Black Friday sales and the Christmas shopping season.
The current strength in shipping – and the U.S. economy – can also be seen in the data from our ports. Container imports through the top 10 ports in the U.S. rose for a seventh straight month in April from a year earlier. This pushed the three-month trailing average gain to 19.1%. That was the strongest showing since July 2021, near the peak of the pandemic demand surge.