The rise in sea freight prices, the congestion of ships in ports, and the shortage of empty containers caused chaos in global trade during the supply chain crisis during the (Covid-19) pandemic, and it has resurfaced once again as the shipping sector enters its busy season.
“There is a mixture of uncertainty and confusion in global shipping supply chains,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Zeneta, adding, “The speed and scale of this recent rise (in prices) took the market by surprise.”
Sand stated that the immediate shipping price for sending a 40-foot (12-meter) truck from China to northern Europe recorded Friday $4,615, which is approximately three and a half times higher than the price of the first of last May, but below the highest price ever, which amounted to $14,000. And $407 in January 2022.
The history of turmoil in the container shipping sector dates back to last December, when Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and other shipping lines diverted the course of their ships away from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to avoid attacks by the Yemeni Houthi group with drones and missiles.
Analytics website Linerlitica said in a recent report that port congestion in China and other Asian countries is putting pressure on an exhausted container shipping market already groaning under the weight of space shortages inside ships and equipment shortages.
Koray Koza, chief shipping officer at Everstream Analytics, said that empty containers are also piling up in Sri Lanka and the UAE, while China and Singapore are reporting a shortage of containers.
