July Surcharges Take Effect: Container Rates Jump to $4,530 per FEU

Container freight rates have confirmed what June’s carrier announcements promised. The FAK increases and peak season surcharges that kicked in on 1 July are now visible in actual market pricing: Drewry’s World Container Index rose 9% in the week to 2 July, reaching $4,530 per 40ft container. A week earlier the index stood at $4,166 — carriers didn’t just announce the increases, the market absorbed them.

First post-surcharge reading, lane by lane

The 2 July WCI assessment shows growth on every major east–west trade:

• Shanghai – Genoa: $6,360 per FEU (+10% week on week) — the lane that prices the Mediterranean leg for Ukraine-bound boxes;
• Shanghai – Rotterdam: $4,682 per FEU (+7%);
• Shanghai – New York: $7,902 per FEU (+11%);
• Shanghai – Los Angeles: $6,349 per FEU (+10%).

The jump follows the pattern we outlined in our mid-2026 freight rate overview: an early peak season, disciplined capacity and a queue of surcharges waiting for 1 July.

The surcharge wave isn’t over

Carriers keep rolling out general rate increases and PSS through July. HMM has already announced a $3,000 per FEU peak season surcharge from 15 July on the Transpacific, where Drewry counts eight blank sailings for next week alone. On Asia–Europe the capacity picture is calmer — one cancelled sailing — but carriers are holding tonnage steady against strong demand, and gCaptain reports Drewry expects rates on both trades to keep climbing.

Keeping the through rate under control

In a rising market, quotation validity matters as much as the number itself. Fix rates for the full route while your quote is still live, book slots ahead of the August cargo peak, and recheck the insured value of goods — a more expensive freight leg changes the sums at stake. Our team handles container shipping, freight forwarding and cargo insurance for imports through Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.