Container freight rates jump eightfold, disrupting timber trade to the Gulf

Container freight rates for softwood lumber shipments to the Gulf have jumped from around $500 to more than $4,000 per 40-foot container since the start of the Iran conflict on February 28, sharply increasing costs and unsettling established trade routes. Shipping lines introduced a series of surcharges within days of the escalation, targeting shipments to the Persian Gulf. The most significant is an emergency surcharge of about $3,000 per container. In many cases, these additional costs have been applied to cargo already at sea, leaving exporters to absorb expenses that were not included in initial contracts ...