The cost to ship goods from North Asia to South America hit new all-time highs amid a severe shortage of container box and shipping space during the peak shipping season ahead of year-end holidays. Rates on North Asia- South America’s East Coast trade lane stood at $11,200 per FEU on September 1, the highest on record and soaring nearly 560% from $1,700 per FEU in May 2020. For the North Asia-South America’s West Coast, rates came in at $12,000 per FEU on September 1.
It is worth noting that rates to South America’s West Coast were more expensive than to East Coast despite the shorter distance. Transit times to Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru were prolonged due to congestion at the US and Mexico’s Pacific ports.
Trade between Asia and South America has increasingly grown over the past few years. Container shipments from North Asia to South America’s East Coast rose by 121,000 TEUs year-on-year to 617,000 TEUs in the February-July period. Meanwhile, shipments to South America’s West Coast rose by 79,000 TEUs to 760,000 TEUs over the same period.
