On Gateway
By the Numbers
An extensive, multi-channel, interactive freight shipping dashboard can be found at https:// www. joc. com / gateway / about
Trans-Pacific imports fall in 7 of 8 months through April
Asia to US container volumes( PIERS)
TEU volume
2,413,492 40 %
2,000,000 |
30 % |
20 % |
1,500,000 |
1,000,000 |
100 % |
1,000,000 |
0 % |
500,000 |
-10% |
0 |
-20% |
L |
Jul |
Oct |
Jan 2025 |
Apr |
Jul |
Oct
Nov,
Jan 2025
2026
|
Apr |
TEU Year-over-year % change
Source: S & P Global © 2026 S & P Global
Year-over-year % change
On Gateway
Containerized US imports from Asia in April fell 6.4 % year over year in April, deepening the year-todate volume deficit to 4.3 %, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global. Retailers forecast volumes will rebound on a year-over-year basis in May and June, but the gains will come from weak 2025 comparisons, rather than a meaningful increase in demand. At the same time, ocean carriers are deploying more tonnage and blanking fewer sailings, according to eeSea data, a sign of some expected pick-up in volumes.
Gateway is an online shipping dashboard of more than 140 continuously updated charts from S & P Global and identified external data sources organized by trade lane, mode and topic. https:// www. joc. com / gateway
DAT US truckload spot rates
Weekly spot truckload rates per mile excluding fuel surcharges. The DAT Freight and Analytics average US truckload spot rate was $ 1.99 per mile in the week of May 9, 2026, up from $ 1.98 per mile in the previous week and $ 1.56 per mile in the same week last year.
$ 2. 10 $ 2. 00 $ 1. 9 0 $ 1. 80 $ 1. 70
U p 27. 6 % f rom M ay 2025
$ 1. 60 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ 1. 50
07-J u n-25
|
05-J u l-25 |
02-A u g-25 |
3 0-A u g-25 |
27-Sep-25 |
25-O ct-25 |
22-N ov-25 |
20-D ec-25 |
17-J an-26 |
14-F eb-26 |
14-M ar-26 |
11-A p r-26 |
Source: DAT Solutions © 2026 S & P Global
Xeneta Asia to US West Coast short and long-term rates
Xeneta aggregates freight rates for both short-term contracts valid for less than 32 days, and long-term contracts valid for 87 days or more. Terminal Handling Charges( THCs) are excluded. The May 14, 2026, average spot rate from Asia to the US West Coast was $ 2,288 per FEU, down 0.3 % from the previous week. Pricing in long-term contracts signed in the last three months slipped 1.5 % to $ 1,666 per FEU, while overall long-term contract rates slipped 0.1 % to $ 1,628 per FEU.
Short-term rates Contract rates signed in last three months
Contract rates
USD per FEU
$ 10,000
$ 8,000 $ 6,000 $ 4,000 $ 2,000
$ 0
01 / 07 / 2021
05 / 14 / 2026
Xeneta’ s ocean freight spot and contract pricing benchmarks gather over 10 million rates monthly from large volume global shippers and forwarders. Before releasing any market information, a minimum of five daily rates per route, per equipment type is required.
66 Journal of Commerce | June 1, 2026 www. joc. com