Box Lines readied for price hikes in August to pause Asia-US West Coast rate slide

Mainline operators are planning a price increase for Asia-US West Coast rates in mid-August to counteract the recent decline. Carriers have announced a hike,, effective from August 15, to stop the downward trend observed over the past three weeks.

On Friday, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index revealed that Shanghai-US West Coast rates dropped by about 7% from the previous week. Despite this decrease, the rates remain significantly higher than recorded a year ago.
Linerlytica’s latest report highlights that the carriers’ determination will face a serious challenge. Recent capacity increases on the Asia-US West Coast and Mexico routes have disrupted the previously tight market, with capacity utilization dropping despite strong peak season cargo demand.

Cargo volumes continue to grow robustly during the traditional Q3 peak season. However, the introduction of new services, such as SeaLead Shipping’s AWC and various adhoc US West Coast sailings, has increased capacity on the route by over 15%.

Linerlytica estimates that there are now 306 vessels, with a total capacity exceeding 2.58 million TEU, operating on the Asia-US West Coast lane, marking a 14% increase year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Asia-US East Coast rates experienced a smaller decline of 2% from the previous week, averaging $9,557 per 40ft, with capacity remaining fairly stable compared to the previous year, at over 2.75 million TEU.