The majority of commodities are shipped around the world by water, and since the epidemic, the global freight market has been unstable and unreliable. The surge in freight is due to several factors, including the shutdown of some ports, a scarcity of containers, and the worldwide petroleum crisis. The rates for freight have tripled from what they once were. Shipping lines are currently making a ton of money and have full schedules reserved in advance.
The container shipping sector is being impacted by weak global demand brought on by a number of macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges. In fact, many shippers arrange orders earlier than usual to increase inventory, toavoid any potential delays, and the customary high season may already be over. The recent sustained drop in freight rates can be directly attributed to oversupply.
Since the shipping companies experienced historical revenues during the pandemic, and though the vast majority of countries are no longer under lockdown, the ports are once again operating as usual. As a result, it appears that freight on the majority of routes and ports will stabilize and gradually decline, in particular from China. Therefore, the world will be swamped with Chinese goods as freight costs fall, creating a huge demand.