Asia-US container rates mostly stable, liquid tanker rates ex-USG steady as Iran war continues in International Shipping News 04/05/2026 Rates for shipping containers from east Asia and China to the US were largely stable this week and liquid chemical tanker rates ex-US Gulf were steady as the Strait of Hormuz remains essentially closed amid the US-Iran war. While attacks between Iran and the US have largely abated amid a ceasefire, the American navy continues its blockade of Iranian ports and Iran is keeping the Strait closed with threats of attacks on commercial vessels. CONTAINER RATES Container rates from Asia to the US were stable this week, as supply chain advisor Drewry said rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles were flat and rates from Shanghai to New York fell by 2%, as shown in the following chart. Drewry said rates were pressured lower by market volatility amid uneven demand and capacity adjustments. According to Drewry’s Container Capacity Insight, eight blank sailings have been announced for next week. Effective capacity is expected to increase 11% from the previous month on Asia to USEC and 6% on Asia to USWC in May. “In addition, carriers are implementing Emergency Fuel Surcharges (EFS) and Peak Season Surcharges (PSS) effective 1 May, with MSC increasing EFS on the Asia-USEC route from $430 to $644/FEU (40-foot equivalent unit) container and CMA CGM introducing PSS of $2,000/FEU. Drewry expects freight rates to increase next week. Rates from online shipping marketplace and platform provider Freightos rose by 1% to the West Coast and by 3% to the East Coast, largely on increased bunker fuel costs as the market is currently in the slow season following the Lunar New Year holiday and before the peak season gets started. Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said that even with this pressure, rates are well below spikes caused by recent disruptions like the Red Sea crisis and trade war frontloading. “The next significant rate increase across these lanes could come with the start of peak season in June or July, though some observers warn that war-related rising costs for consumers could dampen shipper expectations and depress peak season volumes,” Levine said. Rates from ocean and freight rates analytics firm Xeneta were essentially flat this week. Peter Sand, Xeneta chief analyst, said the impact of conflict in the Middle East is making life increasingly complicated for shippers because, while they are firefighting supply chain disruption and elevated spot rates across global trades, they must play their cards carefully when tendering for new long-term contracts or risk leaving money on the table. “These rates have reached a high plateau, sustained by ongoing congestion at Southeast Asian transshipment hubs and the knock-on effects of longer transit times across the network,” Sand said. Rates on the New York Shipping Exchange Freight Index (NYFI) rose by 3.7% to the West Coast and by 5.6% to the East Coast while rates on the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which tracks rates for containers leaving Shanghai, edged slightly higher. 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 chemicals in isotanks. LIQUID