Maritime: a decrease of the container tariff
Drewry's World Container Index (WCI) reaches 1,669 $ for a 40-foot container on October 2, 2025, the lowest level ever observed in the last 12 slippery months.
At the beginning of the year, the WCI amounted to 3,896 $/40. It had reached about 3,527 $ In June, before falling sharply during the summer, losing more than 50% of its value in just four months.
Examples of declines on major shipping routes:
- On the Rotterdam road > Shanghai: -7%
- On the Shanghai road > Genoa: -9%
Trans-Pacific traffic is also concerned with:
- Shanghai > Los Angeles: -5%
- Shanghai > New York: -2%
The Transatlantic does not escape the trend:
- Rotterdam > New York: decrease of about 1% over one month and -13 % over one year
The Chinese CCCI (China Containerised Freight Index) also recorded a decrease of 2.9%, with more marked declines on connections to Europe, where the decrease reached 4.7%.
Golden Week in China (October 1-8), marked by the temporary closure of many factories, is expected to keep demand low, suggesting further short-term declines.
Faced with this trend, shipping companies are multiplying initiatives:
- GRI (General Rate Increases) planning to try to stop the rate drop,
- use of blanks to optimize costs and adjust supply to demand.
It will be interesting to follow the evolution of the WCI in the coming weeks. This will assess the real impact of the GRI announced in mid-October, with a first index given by the post-Golden Week.