PUBLISHER: The Load Star (www.theloadstar.com)
Container spot rates from Asia to the US west coast spiked this week, ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday on 1 February.
Drewry’s WCI US west coast component put on 5%, to $11,197 per 40ft, while the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), which includes an element of premium fees, gained 3.5%, to $15,139.
For the US east coast, there were mixed messages from the spot indices, with the WCI up 2% on the week, to $13,987 per 40ft, in contrast to the FBX reading which declined 2.5%, to $17,023.
In a customer advisory Maersk said there could be enough labour available to keep production ticking over during the CNY holiday and thus would not be reducing services in the immediate post-CNY period.