Box rates were expected to seasonally rise — but they’re falling
- Spot rates in both Asia-Europe and transpacific trades have declined over past two weeks
- Asia-Europe market is facing two headwinds: decreasing port congestion and increasing traffic through the Suez Canal
- Transpacific market could face higher pressure from tariffs in 2026 than in 2025 as frontloaded pre-tariff inventories wind down
Falling spot rates could imply that the pre-Chinese New Year peak came early this year. Bookings data provider Vizion disagrees, predicting that there’s more to come, given the late date of the holiday in 2026
