Asia-Europe Freight Rates Surge as Hormuz Closure Collides With Early Peak Season

European importers are confronting a fresh squeeze on supply chains as container freight rates from Asia spike at the fastest pace in a year, driven by the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz and an unusually early start to the peak shipping season.

The spot rate for a 40-foot container to northern Europe from Asia reached $3,649 in the week to 5 June, a 27 per cent jump on the previous week, according to Oslo-based freight platform Xeneta. Charges on Europe-bound boxes have now climbed more than 50 per cent since the US-Iran conflict began on 28 February, with carriers passing on war-inflated bunker costs through fuel surcharges and peak season levies.

Drewry's World Container Index, a benchmark closely watched by procurement teams, rose 23 per cent to $3,433 per 40-foot box. Shanghai to Rotterdam gained 25 per cent to $3,579, while Shanghai to Genoa advanced 20 per cent to $5,089. Maersk confirmed on 3 June that it is maintaining a full suspension of transits through Hormuz, after a US-led naval escort initiative was abandoned within 36 hours.

The timing is awkward for European shippers. Demand is being pulled forward ahead of an expected 1 July bunker adjustment, and Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have implemented further peak season surcharges of up to $1,000 per 40-foot container. Should Red Sea routings resume at scale, northern hubs including Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp face the prospect of acute congestion as diverted tonnage arrives simultaneously.

Analysts see little near-term relief. Peter Sand of Xeneta warned that the rate surge may have further to run if elevated oil prices persist into the second half, with front-loading by importers giving carriers room to push pricing higher across global trades.