Asia-US container rates steady to softer on low volume despite increased blank sailings in International Shipping News 16/02/2026 Rates for shipping containers from east Asia and China to the US edged lower this week on low volume even as carriers increased the number of blank sailings. Supply chain advisors Drewry said spot rates from Shanghai to major US destinations declined slightly due to low cargo volume, as shown in the following chart. Drewry said that in response to the weak demand ahead of factory closures associated with the Lunar New Year holiday, carriers managed capacity by announcing 57 blank sailings over the next two weeks on the transpacific East and West Coasts trade lanes, much higher than in previous years. Hence, they expect spot rates on this trade to decline slightly in the coming weeks. Rates from ocean and freight rates analytics firm Xeneta also fell slightly. “Offered capacity on the transpacific trade from Asia to US West Coast increased 6.9% in the last week against a backdrop of subdued demand, yet average spot rates remained almost flat,” Peter Sand, Xeneta chief analyst, said. “The full story is found by comparing rates being paid by shippers at different levels of the market,” Sand said. “Xeneta data shows the mid-low market segment – generally occupied by the larger volume shippers – has fallen 18.3% in the last month, while the market average has fallen a lesser -11.5%.” Sand said that with the market mid-low acting as a bellwether and seemingly impacted more immediately by the increasing capacity on the transpacific, those shippers paying the market average should expect further softening in rates in the coming weeks. Rates from online freight shipping marketplace and platform provider Freightos showed the largest decrease on the week and now has containers to the West Coast at around $1,900/FEU (40-foot equivalent units). Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said Asia-US West Coast rates slipped more than 20% last week and are all the way back to early December levels, suggesting that prices are already entering the post-Lunar New Year, pre-peak season lull. Levine cited data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) projecting March volumes will dip 5% month-on-month, with Q1 demand expected to be down 7% year on year as retailers exercise caution and as totals are compared to volumes frontloaded in Q1 last year. Rates from global logistics company Freight Right on its TrueFreight Index (TFX) were steady this week. Robert Khachatryan, founder and CEO of Freight Right Logistics, said the ocean freight market has effectively cooled as China enters its final working week before the Lunar New Year holiday shutdown. “Rates have stabilized at the lower levels established in previous weeks, with no significant movement recorded week-to-week as the shipping window for pre-holiday departures has officially closed,” Khachatryan said. Spot rates on the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which tracks rates for containers leaving Shanghai, fell this week for the sixth week in a row. Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers. They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks. PANAMA PORTS BATTLE CONTINUES Hong Kong-listed