SCFI spikes as transpacific spot rates post record weekly gains

THE Shanghai Containerized Freight Index skyrocketed this week as US importers rushed to bring in goods from China. Weekly gains in spot rate assessments were historically high.

The SCFI global index came in at 2,073 points, up 487 points or 31% week on week. This is the second- largest point gain since the SCFI began publishing in 2009, topped only by the 505-point surge in the last week of 2023, at the onset of the Red Sea crisis.

The SCFI Shanghai-US west coast assessment soared by 58% to $5,172 per feu. The $1,897 per feu increase was the largest weekly feu gain on record in this trade lane.

The SCFI Shanghai-US east coast assessment rose by $1,959 per feu or 46%, to $6,243 per feu — another record feu increase.

Spot rate gains were not limited to the transpacific. The SCFI Shanghai-North Europe index rose 21% to $3,174 per feu and the Shanghai- Mediterranean index gained 31% to $6,122 per feu.

Despite this week’s spike, rate assessments are still below what they were at this time in 2024, although that gap has narrowed considerably for the transpacific lanes.

The SCFI global index is still down 32% year on year, while rate assessments are down 16% to the west coast, 13% to the east coast, 58% to North Europe and 35% to the Med.

The SCFI tends to front-run other spot rate indexes and is likely being driven this week by the substantial general rate increases announced by carriers for June 1. The question ahead is whether those GRIs will stick.

“Ongoing frontloading of imports will see big increases in spot rates on June 1,” said Xeneta senior analyst Emily Stausbøll.

The market had the potential to increase “dramatically” in early June, she added.

Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta said: “There continues to be significant uncertainties looking ahead, with questions on tariff impacts, negotiations between China and the US, and most importantly, the potential increase in Red Sea transits.

“For now, however, freight rates remain well- supported on very tight capacity, strong booking volumes, and the peak season due to start in the coming weeks.”

Drewry’s World Container Index also showed a large increase this week, although much smaller than the SCFI.

The WCI composite index came in at $2,508 per feu in the week ending Thursday versus the prior week, the first double-digit weekly gain since July 2024.

The WCI Shanghai-Los Angeles assessment rose 17% w/w to $3,738 per feu, and the Shanghai-New York assessment increased 14% to $5,172 per feu.

The WCI Shanghai-Rotterdam index increased 6% w/w to $2,159 per feu, and the Shanghai- Genoa index rose 3% to $2,939 per feu.

As with the SCFI, the WCI numbers are still down from 2024 levels. The WCI global composite is down 41%, Shanghai-Los Angeles is down 31%, Shanghai-New York 24%, Shanghai- Rotterdam 59% and Shanghai-Genoa 48%.

Lloyd's List Daily Briefing 2 June 2025

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