The Baltic Exchange’s Week 19 container market report highlights the ongoing impact of elevated U.S. tariffs on China, which have significantly disrupted trans-Pacific trade flows and affected global container freight rates.
Freight rate overview
The US tariffs on China, raised to 145% in early April, have caused a significant drop in China-US container flows and negatively impacted manufacturing in China. Consequently, US importers have paused orders from China, leading to fewer container ship arrivals and lower import volumes. Concerns are rising in the US about potential disruptions if tariffs are reduced and volumes rebound quickly, leading to volatility in container rates and possible congestion.
Trans-Pacific container rates on FBX01 (China/East Asia – US West Coast) remained mostly unchanged, ending the week at $2,392/FEU due to carriers being able to successfully make capacity adjustments to sailings. Similarly, FBX02 (US West Coast – China/East Asia) rates were unchanged over the week finishing at $429/FEU by end of the week. FBX03 (China/East Asia – US East Coast) also remained mostly unchanged finishing the week at $3,398/FEU. FBX11 (China/East Asia – North Europe) rates increased from $2,244/FEU, finishing the week at $2,469/FEU. FBX12 (North Europe – China / East Asia) fell from $466/FEU finishing the week at $386/FEU. FBX13 (China/East Asia – Mediterranean) was unchanged finishing the week at $2,936/FEU.
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Source: Baltic Exchange
