Drewry: World Container Index Up 3% Last Week in International Shipping News 07/03/2026 For many years, World Container Index (WCI) has been the go-to, independent, global reference for index-linked contracts. If your organisation is considering index-linked contracts or requires regional visibility/coverage beyond the eight trade lanes provided below, contact our ocean freight cost benchmarking team. Drewry’s World Container Index increased 3% to $1,958 per 40ft container this week. Source: Drewry World Container Index, Drewry Supply Chain Advisors Our detailed assessment for Thursday, 05 March 2026 The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) increased 3% to $1,958 per 40ft container due to an increase in rates on the Transpacific trade routes. Spot rates on Asia–Europe trade routes remained under pressure, with rates on Shanghai–Rotterdam falling 2% to $2,052 per 40ft container and those on Shanghai–Genoa increasing only 1% to $2,844. Since volumes typically rebound in March as factories across Asia reopen, carriers have started planning capacity induction, with only four cancelled sailings announced on the Asia–Europe/Med trade route over the next two weeks. Hence, we expect spot rates on this trade to increase in the coming weeks. Spot rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased 10% to $2,402, while those on Shanghai to New York increased 7% to $2,977 per 40ft container. According to Drewry’s Container Capacity Insight, only four blank sailings have been announced for the next week on the Transpacific East and West Coast trade routes, much lower than this week, as factories gradually return to full production after the CNY. Drewry thus expects spot rates on this trade to increase in the coming weeks. US and Israeli strikes on Iran have effectively frozen tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around 20% of global oil supply, pushing crude oil prices higher amid supply concerns. If the situation persists, rising bunker fuel costs, war-risk premiums and operational disruptions could increase overall freight costs and place upwards pressure on container shipping rates. Ocean spot market freight rates against 6,700 global port pairs If you need spot market container freight rate information on other routes to those above, find out more about our Container Freight Rate Insight (CFRI) online service, which covers 6,700 global port pairs updated monthly (2,450 updated fortnightly). Source: Drewry 2026-03-07 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share