A sharp rise in spot rates in the transpacific container trades may be short-lived.

A surge of additional capacity in the form of cascaded tonnage and newbuildings will make it tough for liner operators to hike rates, despite a jump in the spot market, analysts say.

Spot rates on the transpacific route were massively up in the week ending 5 April on the back of the 1 April general rate increases, according to the World Container Index.