As the conflict in the Red Sea continues, container freight rates continue to rise, with ocean container freight rates rising by an average of 23% to US$3,777.<\/p>\n
According to data from maritime consulting firm Drewry's, current freight rates are up 82% from the same period last year. At the same time, freight rates from Shanghai to the United States have increased significantly. Ocean freight rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased by 38% to US$3,860, and freight rates to New York increased by 35% to US$5,644.<\/span><\/p>\n The average rate is now the highest since October 2022 and is 166% higher than the pre-COVID 2019 rate of $1,420. Just three months ago, shipping rates were 6% lower than the pre-pandemic average.<\/p>\n Ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea region have sent freight rates soaring. Freight rates have been rising since Yemen's Houthi rebels began attacking some container ships passing through the Suez Canal three weeks ago, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict also having an impact.<\/p>\n In order to avoid being affected, ocean shipping groups have begun arranging vessel rerouting. Detouring via the Cape of Good Hope will add about 14 days to the vessel's voyage and increase costs.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the problem was compounded by the months-long drought in the Panama Canal, when carriers had to reroute cargo ships to the Suez Canal, but are now having to reroute them again.<\/p>\n Now, furniture importers on both coasts of the United States are affected, and furniture suppliers are struggling to maintain supplies. BDI, an East Coast furniture importer, chooses to ship half of its products to the West Coast first.<\/p>\n In addition, since the Red Sea route of most shipping companies was suspended in mid-December, more than 500 container ships have been diverted from the Red Sea route to the Cape of Good Hope, which is farther away, adding two weeks to the shipping time. Affected by this, the Asia-Europe route has a capacity gap of up to 1 million TEU, freight rates have soared, and the situation of \"hard to find a box\" has once again occurred.<\/p>\n Sea-Intelligence, a well-known industry maritime consultancy, said that the current disruption of Red Sea routes has caused greater damage to the supply chain than at the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n At present, many European factories such as Tesla, Volvo, and Suzuki have stopped production. European wine merchants are also facing difficulties in booking space. The home furnishing giant IKEA even issued an early warning of delivery delays.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the conflict in the Red Sea continues, container freight rates continue to rise, with ocean container freight rates rising by an average of 23% to US$3,777. According to data from maritime consulting firm Drewry’s, current freight rates are up … Continue reading