Asia-US container rates mostly higher on Iran war stalemate; tanker rates edge lower in International Shipping News 25/05/2026 Rates for shipping containers from east Asia and China to the US rose again this week and are now up by about $1,000/FEU (40-foot equivalent unit) since the start of the Iran war, and liquid tanker rates were steady to softer with decreases across most trade lanes. CONTAINER RATES Rates from online shipping marketplace and platform provider Freightos fell by 1% to both US coasts, and rates to the West Coast are up by 56% from the start of the war and rates to the East Coast are up by 41%. Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Iran war as peak season approaches will lead to demand-driven movements in rates from higher fuel costs, with blank sailings for capacity management also playing a role. Levine said transpacific rates are expected to rise further once peak-season demand kicks in. The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects peak season to arrive in July. Rates from supply chain advisors Drewry rose by 1% from Shanghai to Los Angeles and were up by 2% from Shanghai to New York. Drewry expects rates to rise in the coming weeks on tighter capacity from the blank sailings and from the implementation of general rate increases (GRIs). Rates on the New York Shipping Exchange Freight Index (NYFI) rose by 6.8% to the West Coast and rose by 3.3% to the East Coast while rates on the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which tracks rates for containers leaving Shanghai, rose by 3.6% to its highest level since June 2025. Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers. They also transport liquid ch