Shippers are paying more.
Their service is getting worse.
And cargo growth is modest.
Far East–US East Coast spot rates are almost $11,000/FEU.
Far East–North America on-time performance fell below 20%.
North American imports grew just 1% in H1.
Those three numbers should not fit together.
But they do.
And the reason may tell us what rates do next.
So what is driving the gap?
Here are 5️⃣ signals behind it:
1️⃣ The gap is getting wider
Far East–US East Coast spot rates reached $10,900/FEU.
That is about 10% above the 2024 Red Sea crisis peak.