Shipping Costs Spike Amidst Iran War Anxiety Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. June 10, 2026 © Adobe Stock/tiero The cost of shipping a container of goods from Asia to the United States has doubled since the start of the Iran war, driven by spiking fuel prices and an uptick in demand from importers who are worried costs will only rise further as the conflict wears on. "If you want to know how seriously to take the threat of an energy crisis, look at container shipping rather than oil markets because the risk is priced into the spiraling freight rates far more clearly," said Peter Sand, chief analyst at freight pricing platform Xeneta. The dynamic threatens to feed into already high inflation rates in the United States, and reflects a major challenge for the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump after it started its war on Iran. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that lowering fuel prices will ultimately take a resolution with Iran to get more oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The off-contract spot rate to send a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles was $4,565 on Thursday, while the Shanghai to New York rate was $5,505, according to the latest weekly Drewry World Container Index (WCI). Asia-to-U.S. spot rates reported by both Xeneta and Drewry are up almost 100% from levels at the end of February, when the Iran conflict began, but still well below the $16,000 peak early in the COVID pandemic, which sparked spree buying by homebound consumers. BUNKER FUEL SPIKE Hostilities stemming from the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have raged for more than 100 days with no immediate end in sight, choking the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz — normally the conduit for almost 20% of the world's supply. Global oil inventories and emergency reserves are rapidly depleting as a result. Fuel analysts and  maritime  experts warn it could take around a year for bunker fuel supplies to return to normal even if Trump is able to qui