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LONDON/LOS ANGELES- Container shipping rates for key global trade routes have soared this week, with U.S. and UK air strikes on Yemen stirring fears of a prolonged disruption to global trade in Red Sea, one of the world's busiest routes, industry officials said on Friday.
U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of strikes across Yemen overnight, retaliating against Iran-backed Houthi forces for attacks on Red Sea shipping, widening regional conflict stemming from Israel's war in Gaza.
Rates on the Shanghai-Europe route rose 8.1% to $3,103 per 20-foot container on Friday from a week earlier, while the rate for containers to the unaffected U.S. West Coast soared 43.2% to $3,974 per 40-foot containers week on week, leading ship broker Clarksons said on Friday.
"The longer this crisis goes on, the more disruption it will cause to ocean freight shipping across the globe and costs will continue to rise," Peter Sand, chief analyst at freight platform Xeneta, said in Friday. Read more
Source: REUTERS
