On January 9th, 2022, 109 container ships sat off the coast of California waiting for their turn to unload at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. One year later there are almost none. The easing of port traffic and the opening of other supply-chain bottlenecks have led to a collapse in freight rates from the all-time highs reached during the pandemic. The cost of shipping a 40-foot container from China to America’s west coast is now $1,400, down 93% from its peak of $20,600 in September 2021, according to Freightos, an online freight marketplace. It is roughly equal to its value in February 2020, before the pandemic struck. Costs along other major shipping routes are in retreat, too. That ought to be a relief for consumers. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates that 40% of inflation between 2019 and 2021 was caused by supply shocks.
Economist: Global shipping costs are returning to pre-pandemic levels
