The price of transporting goods from Asia to the USA has skyrocketed over the past month. The demand for container shipping has been pushed upwards due to the threat of a major port strike in the USA, which could shut down ports in the country that normally receive half of all sea freight to the world's largest economy.
Getting a 40-foot container from Asia to the US West Coast cost $6,000 (approximately 66,000 kronor) on January 1. That's roughly 50 percent higher than the freight price at the beginning of December, according to Xenata, an Oslo-based platform for freight.
Meanwhile, prices for shipping goods to the US East Coast have risen by 31 percent to $7,100.
The shipping industry has struggled with major traffic disruptions in 2024 as many ships have been rerouted to avoid attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen when passing through the Red Sea. The longer shipping routes have eaten up freight capacity and thus already pushed up prices.
