Container freight rates on trades out of India continue to taper off amid falling demand, according to a new market analysis by Container News.
On the westbound India-Europe trade, contract prices from West India [Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT)/Nhava Sheva or Mundra Port] to Felixstowe/London Gateway (UK) or Rotterdam (the Netherlands) have slipped to US$4,400/20-foot container and US$4,800/40-foot container, down from US$4,650 and US$5,200, respectively, last month.
For West India-Genoa (the West Mediterranean) cargo, carriers are accepting bookings at US$4,900/20-foot box and US$5,100/40-foot box, compared with the August levels of US$5,000 and US$5,300.
Eastbound cargo rates have declined by double-digit percentages – now hovering at US$1,525/20-foot container and US$1,700/40-foot container, versus US$1,725 and US$1,900 for shipments from Felixstowe/Rotterdam or Rotterdam to West India (Nhava Sheva/Mundra).
Short-term contract prices offered by major carriers for Indian cargo to the US East/West coasts have further moderated from the August levels – averaging at US$7,137 per 20-foot box, from US$7,937, and US$9,015 per 40-foot box, from US$10,015, for bookings to USEC (New York), and at US$7,032/20-foot container, from US$8,357, and US$8,913/40-foot box, from US$10,569, for loads to USWC (Los Angeles).
For the West India-US Gulf Coast trade, rates have decreased to US$9,257 per 20-foot and US$11,615 per 40-foot container, versus US$10,527 and US$12,925, respectively, in August.
On the return leg, average rate levels have remained steady with the rates maintained by major operators last month – at US$1,075/20-foot box and US$1,434/40-foot box from USEC; at US$2,484/20-foot box and US$3,193/40-foot box from USWC; and at US$1,770/20-foot and US$1,843/40-foot box from the Gulf Coast, into West India (Nhava Sheva/Mundra).
Intra-Asia trades out of India have seen the sharpest month-on-month slide, after hitting new highs following the end of Covid lockdowns in and around Shanghai.
Contract prices from India to Central/North China, Singapore and Hong Kong have dropped between 25% and 50% this month from the levels reported at the end of August.
Average contract rates offered by major carriers to regular clients for bookings from West India (Nhava Sheva/JNPT or Mundra) to Shanghai/Tianjin are now at US$350 per 20-foot container and at US$450 per 40-foot box, down from US$505 and US$810, respectively, during August.
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For more information:
Jenny Daniel
Container News
j.daniel@container-news.com