Chinese Customs data, according to Caixin (August 14) showed that ocean shipping rates between China and the U.S. have soared in the last three months as Chinese exporters and their American customers' race to stock up on goods over concerns about potential new tariffs during a season that is already one of the industry’s busiest. While China’s exports to the European Union and Japan both fell in July, the figure for the U.S. rose 12.5% for the month, up sharply from June. As the volume of exports increased, container freight rates on China-U.S. routes rose sharply and are now more than double what they were at this time last year. The price for shipping a 40-foot container to the West Coast of the U.S. has now passed $3,100, while shipments to the East Coast now cost more than $3,500, according to the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI). Both rates are up nearly 90% over the last three months alone.
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