Asia-to-U.S. Ocean Freight Spot Rates Ease Slightly
Asia-to-U.S. ocean freight spot rates edged lower after the peak holiday stocking period ended but remained more than double year-earlier levels.
What are the key facts?
- 1Asia-to-U.S. West Coast container spot rates fell 1% week over week
- 2Asia-to-U.S. West Coast freight rates were $8,245/FEU
- 3Asia-to-U.S. East Coast container spot rates fell 2% week over week
- 4Rates on both routes remained above 2025 levels
What happened?
According to weekly data released by Freightos on November 10, 2026, and cited by Supply Chain Dive, Asia-to-U.S. transpacific container ocean freight spot rates edged lower as the peak holiday stocking period gradually ended. Rates on the Asia-to-U.S. West Coast route fell 1% week over week to $8,245/FEU, while rates on the Asia-to-U.S. East Coast route fell 2% to $9,708/FEU. Although rates on both routes declined, they remained significantly above the same period in 2025, when West Coast and East Coast rates were approximately $2,958 and $3,513/FEU, respectively. For cross-border ecommerce replenishment, the short-term decline in freight rates may create an opportunity to reassess the time and cost trade-offs between ocean and air freight, particularly for West Coast warehouse stocking, full-container-load shipments, and large items. However, inventory was already positioned ahead of the late peak season, so sellers should not blindly add high-cost inventory after late November solely because freight rates have eased slightly. For replenishment after BFCM, port congestion, customs clearance, and warehouse appointment delays should also be included in arrival-time estimates.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
Asia-to-U.S. West Coast and East Coast ocean spot rates fell 1% and 2% week over week, respectively, but remained substantially above 2025 levels, so replenishment costs have not normalized. Sellers stocking U.S. West Coast warehouses or shipping large items and full containers can reassess ocean versus air freight, but post-BFCM replenishment still requires simultaneous evaluation of port, customs, and warehouse appointment delays.
What should sellers do now?
- 1Enter each replenishment SKU for the U.S. West Coast warehouse into the profit calculation this week, input ocean freight cost of $8,245/FEU, compare it with the air-freight option, and produce a landed-cost and gross-margin checklist for each SKU.Profit calculator
- 2For U.S. West Coast warehouse and large-item replenishment still needed after BFCM, create a purchasing contingency list and mark checks for port congestion, customs clearance, and warehouse appointment delays; then confirm the basis for the arrival estimate for each item.Procurement List
- 3For U.S. store listings planned for additional inventory after late November, recalculate the higher-freight-cost scenario with a break-even calculator, focusing on whether high-cost inventory can still cover costs, and retain the review results.Breakeven calculator