Asia-US container rates rise on Middle East conflict; global bunker prices surge with crude in International Shipping News 10/03/2026 Rates for shipping containers from east Asia and China to the US were mostly higher this week as the conflict in the Middle East wages on, while surging crude oil prices amid the Strait of Hormuz blockage have caused bunker prices to soar, creating new headwinds for shippers. Rates from global logistics company Freight Right on its TrueFreight Index (TFX) rose by 10-15% this week, as shown in the following chart. For the transpacific trade lane, Robert Khachatryan, founder and CEO of Freight Right Logistics, said the conflict in the Middle East comes as factories in China are ramping back up after the Lunar New Year holiday. Rates from supply chain advisors Drewry rose by 10% from Shanghai to Los Angeles and by 7% from Shanghai to New York. Drewry said that only four blank sailings have been announced for the next week on the transpacific East and West Coast trade routes, much lower than this week, as factories gradually return to full production after the Lunar New Year holiday and the company expects spot rates on this trade to increase in the coming weeks. Weekly rates from online freight shipping marketplace and platform provider Freightos, which came out on Tuesday and likely had yet to capture increases that emerged later in the week as the Middle East conflict continued, were flat from the previous week. Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said effects from the US-Iran conflict are driving significant logistics disruptions in the region which could start to be felt more broadly if the conflict stretches on. Even as some ports in the region remain operational, Levine said that with the strait closed and the security risks in the region, the major container carriers are diverting vessels away, cancelling sailings and suspending new bookings. The Strait of Hormuz handles about 2% or 3% of global container volumes and estimates of the amount of container capacity from the around 100 container vessels now stranded in the Persian Gulf range from less than or around 1% to as much as 10% of effective capacity, Levine said. “So, for now, the war’s impacts on the container market are mostly local, with Hapag-Lloyd reporting that elsewhere operations continue as normal,” Levine said. “But the longer the conflict continues the more disruptive it will be and the more broadly it will be felt.” Rates on the New York Shipping Exchange Freight Index (NYFI) edged slightly lower this week while rates on the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which tracks rates for containers leaving Shanghai, rose for the second week in a row. Rates from ocean and freight rates analytics firm Xeneta rose week on week, and the company’s chief analyst, Peter Sand, said the escalation of conflict in the Middle East demonstrates how a regional crisis can quickly ripple across supply chains, eventually impacting shippers at a global level through delays, port congestion and escalating freight rates. “Port congestion ripples across supply chains, so major transshipment hubs in Asia, such as Tanjung Pelepas and Singapore, will be impacted,” Sand said. “Ripple effects are also seen in freight rates, with the most significant increases found on trades closest to the epicenter of conflict.” Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are