Maritime & Shipping, Containers
June 15, 2026
Platts clarifies base ports used in container rate assessments
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, would like to clarify the base ports used in the assessment of Platts container rates (PCR ).
The clarification aims to improve transparency by clearly specifying the representative ports used to normalize different loading/discharge ports within each region. Apart from the base ports, any indication received for other loading/discharge ports in the region is, wherever possible, normalized to the base ports.
The clarification does not change the underlying methodology for PCR assessments. The assessments continue to reflect region-to-region container spot freight rates.
The regional definitions, along with the base ports, are listed as follows:
| Region | Base ports |
| North Asia | Tokyo to Hong Kong, basis Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen |
| Southeast Asia | Hong Kong to Singapore, basis Singapore and Port Klang |
| North Continent | Bilbao to Hamburg, basis Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp |
| UK | UK, basis Felixstowe, London Gateway and Southampton |
| Mediterranean | Gibraltar to Trieste, excluding North Africa, basis Barcelona, Valencia and Algeciras |
| East Coast North America | Atlantic Coast, including Canada, basis New York, Savannah, Charleston and Norfolk |
| West Coast North America | Pacific Coast, including Canada, basis Los Angeles and Long Beach |
| US Gulf Coast | Houston to Mobile, basis Houston, Tampa and Mobile |
| East Coast South America | Atlantic Coast, including Argentina, basis Buenos Aires, Santos and Cartagena |
| West Coast South America | Pacific Coast from Chile to Colombia, basis Santiago and Callao |
| Indian Subcontinent | Karachi to Chittagong, basis Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mundra |
| Middle East | Jebel Ali to Salalah, basis Jebel Ali |
| West Coast India | West Coast India, basis Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mundra |
| East Coast Australia | East Coast Australia, basis Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne |
| West Coast Australia | West Coast Australia, basis Fremantle |
The assessments are published in Containers Daily and on Platts Shipping Alert pages.
Please send all feedback, comments and questions to shipping@spglobal.com, containers@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.
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