Recently, as freight transportation enters the off-season, the decrease in cargo volume is difficult to support freight rates.
Although labor negotiations in the East Coast of the United States may trigger strikes, shipping giant MSC has notified that prices for the US line will be reduced next week due to low cargo volume during the off-season.
Specifically, the freight rate per 40 foot container on the West Coast Line will decrease to approximately $3150, and the freight rate per 40 foot container on the East Coast Line will decrease to approximately $4850. To avoid customer loss, other shipping companies are expected to follow this trend of price reduction.

The shipping company is looking forward to a wave of cargo during the period from mid December to the Chinese New Year, which is before the Lunar New Year. At the same time, airlines are closely monitoring the progress of negotiations with workers at the US East Coast ports and the latest developments in Trump's tariff policies, hoping that these factors can stimulate shipments.
Industry insiders believe that if a strike really occurs after January 15th next year and the Spring Festival is brought forward to the end of January, shipping companies may launch discounted prices before the holiday to stimulate shipments, which will help increase transportation volume. However, if the strike remains unresolved, its impact may become more apparent after the holiday. Once a strike disrupts the supply chain and causes port congestion, freight rates are expected to receive support.
As the supply of shipping services gradually returns to normal after the Golden Week, and with the arrival of the traditional off-season and the end of the Double 11 e-commerce season, although shipping companies have tried to control supply by reducing ships and schedules, they still find it difficult to reverse the pressure of lower freight rates.

Especially on the US West Coast, the supply reduction caused by the reduction of ships and schedules during the Golden Week, combined with the three-day strike in the East Coast resulting in some goods being diverted to the US West Coast, has supported or even increased the freight rates on the US West Coast. However, with the return of cargo volume from the East Coast and the impact of the off-season, freight rates on the West Coast have also been revised accordingly.
In contrast, European freight rates are still struggling. Industry insiders in the freight forwarding industry have revealed that considering the final critical stage of the signing of the new contract for the European route next year and the major reshuffle of the global shipping alliance, shipping companies are making every effort to maintain freight rates. This week, the freight rate per 40 foot container on the European route is approximately $4200-4400.

At present, many airlines adopt a dual strategy to maintain freight rates: on the one hand, they control supply through technical cabin control; On the other hand, stabilizing market confidence is achieved by shouting for gains and stopping losses. At the same time, they will adjust the freight rates based on the loading rate of the ships: if the load is not enough, they will lower the price to grab the goods; Improvement in loading rate leads to price maintenance.
Although some ships have good loading, it is difficult for freight rates to increase significantly to avoid losing customers. Therefore, it is expected that European freight rates will maintain a small upward and downward trend.
Specifically, the latest week's SCFI quotation shows that the freight rate per 20 foot container from Shanghai to Europe has dropped by $29 to $2512; The freight rate for every 20 foot container on the Mediterranean route has increased by $25 to $3080; The freight rate per 40 foot container on the Western route to the United States dropped significantly by $548 to $4181; The freight rate per 40 foot container to the Eastern United States also dropped by $219 to $5062.
Overall, shipping rates are influenced by multiple factors, and the trends of various routes vary, with uncertainties still present in the future.