Global sea freight costs have risen to a two-year high before the introduction of new US tariffs, The Financial Times (FT) reported, citing experts.
Prices on routes between Asia and the US East Coast, as well as between Asia and Europe, reached their highest level since the summer of 2024 last week, according to digital shipping platform Freightos.
According to the data, the price of a standard 40-foot container (12.9 meters long, 2.44 meters wide and 2.59 meters high) on the China-US East Coast route jumped to $7,880, which is 62% more than the previous month. The price of such freight between China and the Mediterranean has risen by 47%, to $6,431.
“Uncertainty over tariffs and bunker costs has led to accelerated loading of goods, especially in the United States, which has sharply increased freight rates“, said a statement from BIMCO, the world's largest shipowners' association. According to Judah Levin, a spokesman for Freightos, customers and shipping companies are rescheduling deliveries to avoid potential summer disruptions and rising fuel prices due to the crisis in the Middle East.
As previously reported, the United States intends to impose new tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on products from approximately 60 countries in July. This decision follows an investigation launched in March into the regulations in these countries regarding the import of goods produced using forced labor.
The investigation was initiated under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes the US President to take all necessary measures to counteract what the US considers to be existing restrictions on US trade by other countries.