SONAR data, the freight intelligence platform from FreightWaves, shows laden containers from China bound for the west coast approached record levels as the July 9 end of the China-US tariff pause approached, reported New York's FreightWaves.

Freightos said that between late May and mid-June, rates for Asia to North America west coast containers surged by over US$3,000 per FEU, or 115 per cent, to $6,000. However, by the end of last week, a combination of demand and capacity issues caused a sharp decline in the average rate to $3,388 per FEU, which is 43 per cent below June's peak, though still 22 per cent higher than in late May.

East coast rates saw a similar, though less dramatic, trend. They surged 80 per cent from late May to mid-June, reaching $7,200 per FEU but fell 15 per cent to $6,116 by the end of the month. This drop in rates, occurring early in the typical peak season, has led carriers to consider reducing capacity.Freightos Head of Research Judah Levine in a note said that even with these tariff-driven pressures that pushed rates up sharply in June, the peaks for both lanes were at least $1,000 per FEU lower than a year ago, and may indicate overall capacity growth in the container market.