India anticipates shortages of containers and increased freight prices

Freight costs have risen by double digits as exporters rush to lock down consignments amid uncertainties over reciprocal tariffs by the US. Shipping companies and Indian exporters are also bracing for a potential container shortage due to consignments being stuck in China, and trade patterns shifting in the near future.

While India faces a 10 percent ‘baseline’ tariff after the US suspended the 26 percent ‘reciprocal’ duties for 90 days, the levy remains at 145 percent on China, the biggest exporter to the US.

Shipping companies also flagged concerns over a potential container shortage in the near future due to delays in containers moving out of China amid its trade war with the US. Vizion’s Tradeview platform, which monitors and analyses container shipping trade flows, stated that container bookings from China to the US dropped to 54,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units, the industry standard metric) compared to 148,000 TEUs the previous week.

According to Drewry’s World Container Index, the cost of shipping a 40-foot container increased 3 percent to $2,265 per last week.