Sea freight China-Europe: rates fall for a twelfth week, carriers attempt an increase

Drewry's World Container Index stood at 4,434 dollars per 40-foot container on 1 October 2026, down 1% on the week. The weakness comes mainly from Asia to Europe: the Shanghai-Rotterdam rate fell 2%, to 3,399 dollars, and Shanghai-Genoa 3%, to 3,702 dollars, marking a twelfth consecutive week of decline on this route, a sign of weak demand since the summer.

Shipping lines are trying to reverse this trend by announcing Freight All Kinds (FAK) rate increases for the second half of October, once China's Golden Week is over and volumes have picked up again. Industry analysts remain cautious about whether these increases will hold, as this depends on the capacity actually available on each service.

For a shipper, this means that spot rates quoted around 19 October need to be checked against the capacity actually allocated by the carrier, rather than simply accepted as a new benchmark rate: several FAK increase attempts have not held in previous weeks for lack of sufficient demand.

This prolonged fall is, for now, good news for buyers booking today, but it remains fragile: the post-Golden-Week recovery and the concentration of supply during the autumn Canton Fair could push container demand back up before the end of October.