Ocean shipping rates for containers leaving Shanghai have continued their downward spiral from record highs last summer when the pandemic disrupted the supply of Chinese-made goods in high demand from abroad, reports the South China Morning Post. A reversal of the supply-demand balance since than has caused freight rates to come down by as much as 90%, though analysts predicted worse to come because of the bleak economic outlook.
Shippers in Shanghai now charge about $2,000 to transport a 20-foot equivalent container to the west coast of the United States, compared to as much as $20,000 in the summer of 2021, according to local freight companies.
“It has become a buyers’ market as ocean carriers now have to work hard to attract cargo owners,” said Lu Ming, an agent at the Shanghai Ocean Shipping Agency. “The shipping industry in Shanghai has been so volatile since 2020 and industry officials are worried about the prospects for the market.”