Marketplace · Monday, June 29, 2026
The cost of shipping a container across the Pacific has nearly doubled in the last four months, largely due to rising fuel prices following the start of military conflict in the Middle East. Importers are also front-loading demand due to concerns about potential tariff increases and overall price hikes from carriers.
“Over the past four months, the cost of sending a container full of goods across the Pacific has risen from around $1,800 to the shipping company Freightos says, almost $4,200.”
“Fuel costs are a major component of container shipping rates. So when the war started and oil prices rose, ocean carriers started passing on those costs.”
“They could raise them to 20% to 25%. You know, there is really no limit. I mean, they could set them at a thousand percent.”