- Our weekly Cancelled Sailings Tracker provides an overview of blank sailings announced by major alliances compared to the total number of scheduled sailings.
- Drewry’s report also delves into freight rate trends, schedule reliability, and strategic insights into capacity management.
- For more in-depth analysis, an annual subscription to the Container Capacity Weekly Insight offers detailed assessments by trade and alliance, port waiting time events for Los Angeles and Long Beach, and year-on-year comparisons.
Cancelled Sailings Analysis
For the period between weeks 50 (9 December–15 December) and week 02 (6 January–12 January), 59 sailings have been canceled across the key East-West trade lanes: Transpacific, Transatlantic, and Asia-North Europe & Mediterranean. These cancellations represent 8% of the total 721 scheduled sailings. The Transpacific Eastbound lane accounts for the largest share of cancellations at 51%, followed by the Transatlantic Westbound at 27% and Asia-North Europe & Mediterranean routes at 22%.
In terms of alliance-specific cancellations, OCEAN Alliance has announced 15 blank sailings, followed by THE Alliance with 13 and 2M with 8. Non-alliance services have contributed significantly, with 24 cancellations reported during this period. Despite these cancellations, schedule reliability is expected to improve over the next five weeks, with approximately 8% of vessels anticipated to miss their scheduled departures.
Freight Rate Trends
Drewry’s WCI Composite Index, as of 5 December, recorded a 6% week-on-week increase, reaching $3,533 per 40ft container. However, rate dynamics vary across trade lanes. Asia-North Europe and Mediterranean routes experienced a 21% rate surge this week, reversing a slight decline from the previous week. This increase can be attributed to successful implementation of December General Rate Increases (GRIs) by carriers, supported by improved capacity management and early pre-Lunar New Year demand.
Conversely, Transpacific freight rates declined by 6% this week despite robust shipping volumes from Asia. US shippers had already front-loaded cargo to mitigate potential disruptions from tariffs and port strikes, leading to high inventory levels and reduced demand surges. On the Transatlantic route, rates fell by 1%, reflecting a modest reduction in demand.
Key Insights and Forward Outlook
The surge in Asia-North Europe and Mediterranean freight rates highlights the benefits of effective capacity control by carriers and seasonally driven demand spikes. On the Transpacific trade lane, early inventory buildup by US shippers has moderated short-term rate volatility, even as shipping volumes remain strong. Looking ahead, schedule reliability is expected to improve in line with reduced cancellation rates and anticipated activity before the Lunar New Year.
For a deeper understanding of these trends, detailed reports and year-on-year comparisons are available through the Container Capacity Weekly Insight subscription service.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free Click here to Subscribe!
Source: Drewry
