Freight rates from Asia to the US are nearing pandemic-era highs while Asia-Europe rates keep falling, creating the widest gap ever between the world's two biggest trade lanes, according to Xeneta data.

US East Coast rates are only 11.2 percent below the all-time high of $12,683 per FEU set in January 2022, at the peak of the pandemic shipping crisis. Asia-US West Coast rates sit at $7,960 per FEU, 17.9 percent below their COVID peak but still historically very high.

Rates keep climbing even though offered capacity from Asia to the US East Coast was 6 to 7 percent higher in September than August. Xeneta's chief analyst Peter Sand said carriers were "seizing the opportunity while the market is hot."

The Asia-Europe lane tells the opposite story. Shanghai-North Europe rates fell 5 percent week-on-week to $2,425 per TEU. As Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd's Gemini Cooperation returns ships to the shorter Suez route, effective capacity rises and pushes rates down. UK importers face a volatile October of blank sailings and shifting schedules.

Sources: metro.global; navilinkglobal.com.