Drewry launches Intra-Asia Container Index

Average spot rates on most intra-Asia container trade lanes weakened again in the first two weeks of September, according to Drewry’s new Intra-Asia Container Index (IACI) launched on September 17, 2024.

IACI, a weighted average of spot container freight rates, decreased 25 percent to $668 per 40ft container in the past fortnight, and has fallen back 35 percent since its recent peak of $1,025 in the second fortnight of July, says the latest update.

"Much like Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI), one of the most followed industry indices for East-West trade lane spot rates, IACI will be an open-access resource allowing shipping stakeholders to follow the pulse of one of the world’s most important container shipping markets."

IACI is a volume-weighted index of spot container freight rates on 18 large intra-Asia trade lanes to and from China, three North/East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan), five South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) and two South/West Asia countries (India and the United Arab Emirates). The index will be published every two weeks on the Drewry website with indices for eight featured regional trade routes accessible by registered users, the update added.

“As growth in container shipping shifts from inter-continental to intra-regional trades, monitoring these trades is now far more important than was the case 13 years ago when we launched the World Container Index,” says Philip Damas, Head of Supply Chain Advisors and Managing Director, Drewry.

Drewry has noted increasing volatility in intra-Asia spot rates over recent years with rates rising strongly this summer and correcting downwards sharply with softening regional demand, the update added.