Chinese Shipping Costs Spike on Red Sea Crisis, Robust Demand

Freight rates for Chinese container exports spiked over the past two weeks, driven by increased demand overseas and the intensifying crisis in the Red Sea, with Yemen’s Houthis announcing last week they attacked three more ships.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, which reflects changes in spot freight rates from the port city to export destinations such as Europe, reached 2,305.79 on Friday, up nearly 19% from end of April and the highest since late September 2022, data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange showed.