Asia-Europe container rates: twelve weeks of decline, Shanghai-Genoa at 3,702 dollars

FRIDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2026

Drewry's World Container Index falls again, Golden Week slows volumes and the Premier Alliance also returns to Suez. Late-October increases remain uncertain.

Asia-Europe container rates have been falling for twelve consecutive weeks: on 1 October Drewry's World Container Index showed 3,702 dollars for a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Genoa, 3% less in seven days, and 3,399 dollars to Rotterdam. For importers from China it is the time to compare quotes, knowing that carriers have announced increases for the second half of October.

The World Container Index figures

Drewry's composite index fell 1% to 4,434 dollars per 40-foot container. The decline comes almost entirely from Asia-Europe: the previous week, on 24 September, Shanghai-Genoa stood at 3,835 dollars and Shanghai-Rotterdam at 3,485. On the transpacific the picture is different, with prices stable or slightly up.

• Shanghai-Genoa: 3,702 dollars per 40-foot container on 1 October, -3% in a week; it was 3,835 dollars on 24 September.
• Shanghai-Rotterdam: 3,399 dollars, -2% in a week; it was 3,485 dollars on 24 September.
• Asia-Europe: twelfth consecutive week of decline, according to Drewry.
• Composite World Container Index: 4,434 dollars, -1% on the week.
• Transpacific: Shanghai-New York at 10,428 dollars (+1%), Shanghai-Los Angeles stable at 7,835 dollars.

Why Asia-Europe container rates are falling

Drewry attributes the decline to weak demand on the route to Europe, while vessel capacity grows as more and more services return to the Suez Canal instead of sailing around Africa. A shorter route frees up ships: the same fleet can make more voyages, and effective capacity on the market rises even without new vessels.

In the short term China's Golden Week adds to this, the national holiday week starting on 1 October: factories close, departing volumes fall and Drewry expects a further price decline the following week. Carriers are trying to reverse the trend with base rate increases for the second half of October, but Drewry itself considers their success uncertain.

The Premier Alliance returns to Suez too

The alliance of ONE, HMM and Yang Ming, among the last to keep the Cape of Good Hope routing adopted in early 2024, is bringing its FE1 service between Southeast Asia and North Europe back to Suez. The first vessel is the ONE Continuity of about 8,100 TEU, expected at the Canal on 9 November and in Rotterdam on 19 November; three more ships will follow between November and December.

It is a North Europe service, so it does not directly change transit times to Italian ports. It matters for the market as a whole, though: every service returning to Suez adds effective capacity on Asia-Europe, and the downward pressure on rates also affects the Mediterranean.

What it means for importers

The data does not show that rates will keep falling: the market remains volatile and depends on demand, capacity and geopolitics, starting with the Strait of Hormuz. It does signal that, for shipments after Golden Week, today's price is lower than three months ago and that the announced increases are not yet a certainty.

Three useful steps. Ask for several quotes for late-October departures and compare them with the index value, which provides a reference independent of any single forwarder. Check the quote's validity and any adjustment clauses, because a base rate increase can be applied even to bookings already made if the contract allows it. And calculate landed cost with the actual freight rate, not the summer one: on a low-unit-value order the difference can shift the margin.

More ships through Suez, shorter transit times

The gradual return of services to Suez shortens the Asia-Europe route compared with sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. For those planning orders for the first quarter of 2027 it is worth asking your forwarder which route the booked service follows: two offers at the same price can have very different delivery times.

With La Merce, a shipment from Shanghai to Genoa after Golden Week is quoted now, with the freight rate at 3,702 dollars per 40-foot container, and confirmed only after checking whether the increase announced for late October is included in the price.

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