Drewry WCI Rebounds as Transpacific Surcharges Push Container Spot Rates Higher
May 8, 2026
Drewry’s World Container Index for 7 May 2026 turned higher after three straight weekly declines, rising 3% to $2,286 per 40ft container. The move was driven mainly by the transpacific, where Shanghai-New York climbed 7% to $3,721 and Shanghai-Los Angeles rose 5% to $3,062 after carriers implemented higher emergency fuel surcharges and peak season surcharges. Asia-Europe also edged up, with Shanghai-Rotterdam at $2,170 and Shanghai-Genoa at $3,075, while Drewry said transatlantic rates slipped marginally. Drewry’s latest view is that freight rates should increase again next week on the transpacific, while Asia-Europe is expected to remain stable, even though weak demand and excess capacity are still limiting how much of the announced higher FAK levels carriers are likely to secure.
The rebound is real, but the route picture is still split between surcharge strength and weak underlying demand
A stronger table view of the latest WCI, route moves, capacity setting, and Drewry’s next-week expectations.
Transpacific weekly move
+6%
Drewry’s cancelled sailings update says transpacific rates rose 6% week on week.
Asia-Europe weekly move
+2%
Asia-North Europe and Mediterranean rates increased modestly, but the lane still faces weak demand and excess capacity.
Blank sailings next 5 weeks
34
Across major east-west trades, 34 blank sailings are expected out of 702 scheduled departures.
Services still sailing
95%
Drewry says 95% of east-west services are still expected to sail as planned over the next five weeks.
| Trade lane | Latest marker | Immediate operating read | Pricing driver now | Capacity read | Next checkpoint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Container Index | Composite index rose 3% to $2,286 per 40ft container. First weekly rebound | The benchmark has stopped falling after three straight weekly declines. | The rebound was driven mainly by higher transpacific rates and a smaller Asia-Europe lift. | Capacity conditions are gradually improving, with east-west capacity up 4% month on month according to Drewry’s 8 May cancelled sailings update. | Watch whether next week’s composite can extend the rebound or whether the move stalls after this surcharge-led jump. |
| Shanghai-New York | $3,721 per 40ft. Up 7% | The U.S. East Coast lane posted the strongest gain among the headline trades. | Drewry directly links the move to higher emergency fuel surcharges and peak season surcharges. | The wider transpacific still accounts for the biggest share of blank sailings, at 47% of east-west cancellations over the next five weeks. | Watch whether carriers can hold these higher surcharge levels into another weekly assessment. |
| Shanghai-Los Angeles | $3,062 per 40ft. Up 5% | The U.S. West Coast lane strengthened meaningfully, though not as sharply as New York. | MSC raised EFS on Asia-USWC and carriers added firmer pricing layers across the trade. | Despite the rate move, the transpacific remains the most cancellation-heavy east-west trade in Drewry’s latest sailings snapshot. | Watch whether Los Angeles follows New York higher again next week or lags if spot resistance builds. |
| Shanghai-Rotterdam | $2,170 per 40ft. Up 2% | Asia-North Europe improved, but only modestly compared with the transpacific. | Carriers have announced higher FAK levels, but Drewry says weak demand and excess capacity still make full implementation unlikely. | Effective capacity is expected to decline 3% month on month on Asia-North Europe in May. | Watch whether Rotterdam can hold above the latest level while carriers try to defend mid-May FAK announcements. |
| Shanghai-Genoa | $3,075 per 40ft. Up 1% | Asia-Med was firmer, but only slightly. | Carriers announced FAK levels around $4,500 to $4,600 for Asia-Mediterranean, though Drewry remains skeptical on full implementation. | Effective capacity is expected to decline 10% month on month on Asia-Med in May. | Watch whether stronger capacity cuts are enough to produce another weekly gain. |
| Transatlantic | Drewry says transatlantic rates declined marginally by 1%. Still softer | The route did not participate in the week’s broader rebound. | The main lift in the market is coming from Asia-origin trades, not the Atlantic. | Drewry says the transatlantic accounts for 21% of east-west blank sailings over the next five weeks, the lowest share among the three major corridors cited. | Watch whether the Atlantic stabilizes or keeps slipping while Asia-origin trades move higher. |
Rate & Capacity
The strongest pattern right now is a split market. The transpacific is being pulled higher by carrier pricing action, while Asia-Europe is firmer but still fighting weak demand and too much capacity underneath.
WCI Momentum Monitor
A compact interactive block that scores whether the current rebound looks strong, fragile, or mostly surcharge-driven.
A weekly rebound matters more when it is supported by tighter capacity and not only by carrier surcharge action. This tool scores the current WCI setup by combining benchmark direction, transpacific pricing strength, Asia-Europe follow-through, blank sailings, and the underlying demand-capacity balance Drewry described in its latest update.
Build the market profile
Momentum Score
63
Constructive but not clean. The rebound is real, but it still looks driven more by carrier pricing action than by a fully improved market balance.
Market posture
Rebounding
The benchmark has turned up, but the strength is still uneven across routes.
Best read
Surcharge-Led
The clearest push higher is still coming from carrier pricing measures on the transpacific.
Main risk
Follow-Through
The key issue is whether carriers can hold the gains once the first week of surcharge implementation passes.
Closest live comparison
7 May WCI
Your settings match the current Drewry picture of a 3% rebound led by the transpacific.
Momentum Read
Current settings point to a real but still imperfect rebound. The benchmark has turned higher, though the move still depends heavily on carrier pricing action and has not yet resolved the wider demand-capacity imbalance Drewry still sees in key trades.
Score bands
0 to 35
Weak momentum. Any rate lift would look fragile or temporary.
36 to 60
Moderate momentum. The market would be improving, but with clear structural soft spots.
61 to 80
Good momentum. The rebound would look credible, though not fully broad-based.
81 to 100
Strong momentum. Rates would look supported by both pricing action and tighter market balance.
Current market read
The current setup sits in the good-momentum band because the benchmark rebounded and the transpacific moved sharply higher, but Asia-Europe still shows weak-demand and excess-capacity constraints in Drewry’s own commentary.
Directional commercial tool only. It is designed to translate the latest Drewry WCI update into a momentum score, not to forecast exact next-week lane pricing.
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