Containers piled up at a port in Singapore. During the coronavirus period, the global supply chain was subverted by the slowdown of shipping. Photograph: Wallace Woon/EPA

    Freight rates from North Asia to the UK is at an all-time high. As demand continues to rise and equipment shortages continue to plague the market, shipping companies have no choice but to increase freight rates to maintain profit margins.

    Vincent CLERC, the chief business officer of Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, said on Wednesday that there were “simply not enough containers in the world to meet current demand”. He said the recent blockade in the UK and across Europe may even stimulate online purchases of more consumer goods, at least for a few weeks.

    Uncertainty about future trade relations and fears of border delays caused by customs inspections have led to increased demand for goods. Coupled with the change of consumer habits, the shift from services to consumer goods, the seasonal demand before Christmas, and the restocking of enterprises closed due to the nationwide blockade, it is difficult for the port to cope with the growing traffic volume. This situation has developed into this new year and continues to affect the relevant foreign trade industry.

Nanjing Superfit