Container rates settle after a volatile quarter

Spot freight rates on the main east-west shipping routes have returned to roughly where they started the year, after a quarter of sharp swings driven by rerouting around several disrupted chokepoints.

Importers who had absorbed higher costs through the volatile period say the settling rates are a relief, though several note they have already passed some of the earlier increases through to retail pricing and do not expect to reverse those changes.

Analysts caution that rates remaining stable for one quarter is not the same as the underlying disruption being resolved.