Los Angeles: As fuel prices rise due to the US and Israeli war on Iran, the off-contract ocean container shipping rate from China to the US East Coast has reverted to levels experienced after COVID-19 disrupted international trade and may reach new record highs. According to statistics from freight pricing website Xeneta, spot costs on that route reached $10,948 per 40-foot container, more than quadrupling since the start of the Iran war on February 28.
Regarding the route, whose rates reached a record $11,900 in January 2022, Peter Sand, Xeneta’s principal analyst, stated, “That leaves freight rates on these critical trades just short of the all-time high set during the Covid-19 disruption.” For international container carriers like MSC, Maersk, COSCO, and CMA CGM, the Shanghai to New York route is one of the busiest and most lucrative.
After the US and Iran attacked and sank some oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi Arabia closed its crucial East-West pipeline owing to aerial attacks in the escalating Middle East war, crude oil prices skyrocketed.
The very low sulphur fuel oil known as “bunker,” which is used by many container ships, saw an increase in the average price of 20 ports worldwide as a result of those incidents. According to marine fuel price publisher Ship & Bunker, it reached $901.50 per metric tonne on Thursday, up from $543.50 per metric tonne on February 27 but still below the top of $1,053 per metric tonne on March 20. Owners of container ships use surcharges and other pricing strategies to offset these increased expenses.
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