Market intelligence

Container Intelligence

Balanced

Carrier-leaning

Current Container conditions show global spot freight balanced, China export freight firm, major East-West lanes balanced, capacity discipline firm, port/network activity soft and routing risk very strong.

Asia → USWC$6,244/40ft13 Aug 2026 · +6.0%Asia → USEC$8,706/40ft13 Aug 2026 · +10.0%Asia → North Europe$4,425/40ft13 Aug 2026 · -5.0%Asia → Mediterranean$5,080/40ft13 Aug 2026 · -8.0%

Global Spot FreightBalanced

China Export FreightFirm

Capacity DisciplineFirm

Port / Network ActivitySoft

Major spot freight benchmarks

Drewry WCI + Transpacific route history · exact published $/40ft observations

Live source data

WCI compositeShanghai → Los AngelesShanghai → New York

Key market driver strength

Five headline weekly/current drivers

Global Spot Freight StrengthBalanced

China Export Freight StrengthFirm

Major East-West Lane StrengthBalanced

Capacity Discipline / Blank SailingsFirm

Container Port / Network ActivitySoft

Live market snapshot

Current connected indicators only

Drewry WCI13 Aug 2026

$4,339/40ft+1.0%

SCFI14 Aug 2026

3,355.2 index+2.4%

Blank sailings14 Aug 2026

7.0%—

Intra-Asia IACI13 Aug 2026

$1,028/40ft+6.0%

Container port calls14 Aug 2026

1,179 calls/day-4.7%

Capacity & network context

Current capacity action, network and routing pressure

Blank sailing rate7.0%14 Aug 2026

Network absorption99.4 index14 Aug 2026 · -0.6%

Container port calls1,179 calls/day14 Aug 2026 · -4.7%

Routing riskVery strong20 Aug 2026

Why the market is balanced

Global freight: Balanced

WCI direction is the immediate global spot-price signal.

China exports: Firm

SCFI captures China-origin export freight conditions independently of WCI.

Capacity discipline: Firm

Blank sailings show carrier capacity action, not automatic proof of utilisation.

Routing / disruption: Very strong

Operational disruptions can absorb capacity and change voyage/network efficiency.

Slower-moving anchors

Monthly anchors & structural context

These slower series confirm demand and operational structure but do not dominate the weekly market read.

Global container trade demand

CTS monthly physical-demand confirmation

Monthly

CTSJune 2026 data · published 7 Aug 2026

Volume MoM-1.7%June 2026

YTD YoY5.2%June 2026

YTD liftings98.40m TEUJune 2026

CTS price index86.0 indexJune 2026

These are the latest connected official CTS observations. A newer month is never estimated or relabelled before CTS publishes it; weekly WCI, SCFI, lane and capacity signals remain the headline layer.

Schedule reliability & delay

Sea-Intelligence Global Liner Performance monthly anchor

Monthly

Sea-Intelligence GLPJune 2026 data · published 27 Jul 2026

Schedule reliability62.6%June 2026

Late-vessel delay5.31 daysJune 2026

RoleOperational anchorMonthly

Headline score weight8%Secondary

These are the latest connected GLP observations. The next monthly period is not substituted with an estimate; this slower series remains a secondary confirmation layer.

Full intelligence

Market drivers

The ten calibrated drivers behind the current Container market state.

Global Spot Freight StrengthBalanced

WCI defines the global spot freight direction from exact weekly published observations.

China Export Freight StrengthFirm

SCFI provides an independent China-origin export freight signal.

Major East-West Lane StrengthBalanced

Major Transpacific and Asia-Europe route moves show whether freight strength is broad or lane-specific.

Capacity Discipline / Blank SailingsFirm

Cancelled sailings measure carrier capacity withdrawal actions; they are not treated as proof of utilisation.

Network Absorption / DiversionsBalanced

Derived current network absorption captures how routing and activity can consume effective capacity.

Container Port / Network ActivitySoft

PortWatch container calls measure current network activity and are not relabelled as congestion.

Intra-Asia FreightFirm

IACI provides a weekly regional freight pulse outside the main East-West trades.

Routing / Disruption RiskVery strong

Operational routing and disruption events can change network efficiency and effective capacity.

Global Container Trade DemandBalanced

CTS monthly volume growth confirms the slower physical cargo-demand backdrop.

Schedule Reliability / Delay AbsorptionSoft

Monthly schedule reliability and late-vessel delay confirm operational efficiency and delay absorption.

Research access

Reports & Sources

The weekly Container report uses the same validated deterministic market state shown on this dashboard.

Latest Container Report

Four-page weekly Container Market Intelligence in the locked ViewShipping report format.

Open latest Container report →

Report Archive

Container reports are stored in the central ViewShipping Reports Archive under the Containers market filter.

Open report archive →

Sources

Drewry, Shanghai Shipping Exchange, IMF PortWatch, CTS and Sea-Intelligence remain distinct evidence channels.

How our data is built ↓

Source coverage

How the Container read is built

Drewry provides weekly WCI composite, major East-West lane rates, Intra-Asia IACI and cancelled-sailing capacity action; Shanghai Shipping Exchange provides the official weekly SCFI; IMF PortWatch provides high-frequency container vessel and network activity; CTS provides monthly global container-volume demand anchors; Sea-Intelligence provides monthly schedule-reliability and late-arrival delay confirmation; ViewShipping derived layers convert stored operational evidence into network-absorption and routing-risk signals without inventing freight rates or weekly TEU volumes.