Spot rate for reefer containers down to USD 4 240 per FEU on main Europe to Far East route

According to the latest data from Oslo’s Xeneta, the spot rate on the leading fronthaul reefer route now sits at USD 4 240 per FEU (23 January 2023). After a period of almost two years defined by prices in excess of USD 5 000 per FEU reefer container, a sharp fall in December has changed the character of the market, with spot rates now below contracted prices for the first time since October 2019.
 
Xeneta’s crowd-sourced data shows a current long-term rate just shy of USD 4 500 per FEU reefer, after peaking in September last year at USD 4 850.
 
Reefer volumes from Europe to the Far East peaked back in 2020, and have been declining ever since. Volumes fell by 4% in 2021, accelerating to a 13% drop in 2022. This equates to a loss of 100 000 TEU from January to November 2022.
 
Despite the declining rates, Xeneta’s historical data shows that prices remain “relatively strong”. In the third quarter of 2019 long-term reefer contracts could be signed for “only” USD 2 000 per FEU.
 
Xeneta is the leading ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market intelligence platform transforming the shipping and logistics industry. Xeneta’s powerful reporting and analytics platform provides liner-shipping stakeholders the data they need to understand current and historical market behavior – reporting live on market average and low/high movements for both short and long-term contracts.