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Drewry has launched a new Container Shipping Market Signals dashboard, bringing together key indicators including freight rates, blank sailings, port congestion, schedule reliability, global throughput, fuel costs and demand trends. The monthly dashboard also explains what the latest developments mean for shippers, carriers and terminal operators.

For September 2026, Drewry assesses the container shipping market as “balanced to tightening”, with a Market Signal Index of 42 out of 100. Port congestion and higher fuel costs are increasing pressure, while freight rates remain elevated despite a slight monthly decline. Capacity remains broadly stable and the number of cancelled sailings has fallen, providing some support to supply. However, schedule reliability remains a significant operational concern, falling to 46%.

The World Container Index averaged $4,409 per 40-foot container in August, down 1% from the previous month, while average fuel costs rose by 3% to $666. Average port waiting times increased by 9% to 1.6 days. Drewry therefore ad

The September dashboard is available at Drewry — Container Shipping Market Signals.