Drewry’s World Container Index fell 1% to US$4,468 per 40-foot container in its September 24, 2026 assessment, while the Shanghai–Los Angeles rate rose 2% to US$7,838.
Shanghai–New York remained broadly unchanged at US$10,373. On European routes, Shanghai–Genoa fell 5% to US$3,835 and Shanghai–Rotterdam dropped 4% to US$3,485, all per 40-foot container. Drewry said increased Suez Canal transits were adding effective capacity on Asia–Europe services.
U.S.-bound rates remain above July levels
Separate data from Xeneta show that U.S.-bound shipping remains more expensive than at the start of July. In its September 24 update, the firm’s average Far East–U.S. West Coast spot rate was 18.4% above July 1, while its East Coast rate was 30.7% higher.
Over the same period, Xeneta’s Far East–North Europe rate fell 28.7%, and its Mediterranean rate declined 37.8%. These figures cover regional trades rather than Drewry’s individual port pairs.
Cancellations cluster on eastbound transpacific routes
Drewry’s September 25 Cancelled Sailings Tracker projected 58 cancellations among 712 planned departures across major east–west trades from September 28 to November 1. That represents an 8% cancellation rate, with 92% of scheduled sailings still expected to operate.
Eastbound transpacific routes accounted for 64% of the expected cancellations. Asia–North Europe and Mediterranean services represented 28%, with the remaining 8% on transatlantic routes.
The index excludes some delivery costs
Drewry’s methodology defines the WCI as a volume-weighted composite of eight routes, rather than a measure of every global shipping lane. None of those benchmark routes has a Canadian port as an endpoint, so the headline reading is not a freight quote for shipments to Vancouver or Montreal.
The rates cover standard dry containers on a container-yard-to-container-yard basis. They include applicable ocean surcharges but exclude inland transportation, booking, documentation and customs-clearance fees, leaving additional costs outside the headline figures.
October could bring a change in direction
In its September 24 assessment, Drewry expected rates to fall in the week beginning September 28 ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday, despite capacity reductions. Xeneta chief analyst Peter Sand separately said the first half of October could mark the beginning of the end of the rising U.S.-bound rate trend.
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