China shipping to Southeast Asia sees prices surge tenfold as reopening demand picks up

Shipping rates from China to surrounding Asian countries have soared amid the peak season ahead of the Lunar New Year, adding fuel to an already overheated global shipping market disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Southeast Asian routes of the Ningbo Containerised Freight Index, which reflects the spot rate of container ships departing from the Ningbo-Zhoushan port– the world’s largest port by cargo tonnage – recorded a price surge in the past month and reached an all-time high, with freight costs to Thailand and Vietnam rising 137 per cent from the end of October to the first week of this month, while the Singapore-Malaysia freight costs also increased by 49 per cent.

A 20-foot container, shipped from Shenzhen to Southeast Asia, cost about US$100 to US$200 before the pandemic, but the price has since surged tenfold, from US$1,000 to US$2,000, said Yan Zhiyang, a manager with a logistics company based in Guangdong province.