Due to the continuous increase in retailer orders before the arrival of the US shopping season, increasing the pressure on the global supply chain, the freight rate of containers from China to the United States has risen to US$20,000 per 40-foot box (the same below, about S$27,000) The new high above.

      According to Reuters, the accelerated spread of the Delta strain in several countries has led to a slowdown in global container turnover. At the same time, the typhoon that occurred in the southern coastal areas of China in late July and this week also had an impact.

      "These factors have turned global container shipping into a highly chaotic, under-supply seller's market in which shipping companies can charge four to ten times the normal price to transport goods." Managing Director of Drewry, a maritime consulting company Philip Damas said.

      "We haven't seen this in the shipping industry for more than 30 years," Damas said. He also predicts that this "extreme freight rate" will continue until the Spring Festival of 2022.

      According to reports, freight tracking company Freightos said that the freight rate per container on the China-US East Coast route has climbed by more than 500% from a year ago, reaching US$20,804 this week. In contrast, the price on July 27 was slightly less than $11,000.

      Freightos data shows that the cost from China to the West Coast of the United States is slightly less than $20,000, while the latest China-Europe rate is close to $14,000.

      Container ship chartering prices have also risen along with the surge in container freight rates, which has forced shipping companies to give priority to providing services on the most profitable routes.

      Tan Hua Joo, executive consultant of research and consulting firm Alphaliner, said: “Ships can only be profitable by operating in transactions with higher freight rates, which is why most of the capacity is transferred to the United States.”