A recent report by freight rate analyst company Xeneta is putting contracted sea freight prices down almost 5% in October, with the index now standing 62% lower year-on-year in November.

“The XSI is an average of all long-term contracts on the market. So in essence the global index is currently being propped up by those older contracts which were signed back in 2022 when rates were much higher,” Emily Stausbøll, Xeneta market analyst, told Port Strategy.

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Stausbøll is convinced that the situation will continue well into 2024, and advises carriers to address capacity management to avoid further complications.

Despite the fact that the XSI is down from the same period in 2022, long-term rates remain up by 40% compared to November 2020.

“Long-term rates are solid compared to pre-pandemic, but this still hasn’t been enough for some of the biggest ocean liner shipping companies to deliver a positive operating margin in Q3 this year,” Stausbøll added.