Supply Chain Research

Container rates on China outbound routes have fallen for 10 of the last 13 weeks, with a 4% decline in September to the lowest since April 14th. That came despite a marked improvement in international trade volumes in the past three months. It may reflect concerns about rising capacity shown in recent data for shipbuilding deliveries and orders. Pacific basin rates did better than others, with South Korean rates rising 5%, and west-coast U.S. rates doing better than east-coast (3% lower vs. a 5% drop). Notably South American rates slumped 14% in the month, perhaps reflecting a restructur...