West Asia crisis drives container freight spot rates sharply higher; recovery may take till September

The disruption to global shipping caused by the West Asia conflict has sent container freight rates soaring across major trade routes, including lanes that do not directly transit the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, 99 container services operated in or transited the Arabian Gulf, deploying 3.2 million TEUs, or about 10 per cent of the global container fleet.