[SINGAPORE] Sea cargo rates have surged, with those for the voyage from Shanghai to the US particularly steep, fuelled by pent-up demand and front-loading as shippers rush to beat the US-China trade truce expiry.

However, the uncertainty on where the market heads from here has been flagged by analysts, given that new capacity has been added to the US-bound trade lanes and whether the volume surge will sustain after the 90-day window.

The composite Drewry’s World Container Index, which tracks weighted average spot rates on eight east-west routes, rose 41 per cent to US$3,527 per 40-foot container this week, based on its latest reading published on Thursday (Jun 5) night.

The index showed that cargo rates have increased 70 per cent on average in the last four weeks.

Cargo rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles had the biggest jump of 57 per cent to US$5,876 per 40-foot container in the past week and 117 per cent since May 8 – shortly before the world’s top economy temporarily slashed tariffs against the Asian trade partner from 145 per cent to 30 per cent.

Cargo rates from Shanghai to New York spiked 39 per cent in the past week and 96 per cent in the past four weeks.

Maritime and shipping research and consulting services provider Drewry attributed the surge in cargo rates to US President Donald Trump’s “pause” on import tariffs, which has led to a resumption of US-bound traffic after the initial collapse of transpacific volumes in April.