Container spot freight rates on the trans-Pacific trade into the North America west coast managed to defy gravity and edge up this week, while most other east-west trades saw a third consecutive week of declines. Drewry's World Container Index (WCI) showed its Shanghai-Los Angeles leg climbing 2% on the prior week to $2,930 per 40ft, leaving it 34% above the spot rate immediately before the outbreak of the Iran conflict.
Other indices show similar movements. The Freightos Terminal showed a Far East-US west coast rate of $2,675 per 40ft, with head analyst Judah Levine noting it was 45% up on the pre-war level. Xeneta data, meanwhile, shows trans-Pacific rates to both the U.S. west and east coasts up by an average of 50% since the war began.
A forwarder at the late-March TPM event in Long Beach told The Loadstar that quoted rates for 2026 annual contracts jumped by $1,000 per 40ft overnight after the U.S. and Israel launched their bombing campaign on Iran. According to Xeneta head analyst Peter Sand, carriers have largely achieved that target through a mix of pricing discipline and capacity management.
Sand pointed to disciplined capacity management after the Chinese New Year and added that the 50% gain proves carriers' ability to push rates through despite shipper uncertainty. Shippers, in turn, are front-loading cargo ahead of the traditional Q3 peak season for fear of congestion in South-east Asia hub ports; he cited Adidas moving cargo forward ahead of the World Cup in the Americas as a 'better safe than sorry' play.
Trans-Pacific pricing is not uniform, however. WCI's Shanghai-New York leg lost 2% week on week to $3,483 per 40ft. Yet with CMA CGM implementing a $2,000 per 40ft peak season surcharge on all shipments from Asia to the U.S., further increases could materialize next week, signaling that war-driven price support is feeding straight into mainline carrier strategy.
Key Takeaways:
1. Drewry WCI Shanghai-Los Angeles spot rate rose 2% to $2,930 per 40ft, 34% above the pre-war level.
2. Freightos Far East-US west coast rate climbed to $2,675 per 40ft, up 45% from the pre-war benchmark.
3. Xeneta says trans-Pacific west and east coast freight rates are up about 50% on average since the war started.
4. WCI Shanghai-New York leg fell 2% to $3,483 per 40ft, showing trans-Pacific pricing is not uniform.
5. CMA CGM is rolling out a $2,000 per 40ft peak season surcharge on Asia-to-US shipments.
