Affected by the global foreign trade economic environment in the past two years, shipping prices began to decline steadily in 2022. In this year 2023, sea freight prices have remained very low, with slight fluctuations every month. We will bring you the latest news by comparing 40GP (HQ) sea freight prices in 17 important ports in Europe and the United States in 2022 and 2023.
From January to December 2022, 40GP (HQ) sea freight prices in some important European ports, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, continued to fall. The rate of decline slowed slightly from April to July, and shipping prices at the end of the year were almost one-seventh of the price at the beginning of the year, falling from about US$15,000 to US$2,000. Since January 2023, the prices have experienced slight fluctuations but remained in a downward trend, reaching a historical low in October this year. The total transit time is approximately 35 days.
The U.S. ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, and Seattle follow roughly the same trend as European ports. From January to February 2022, the 40GP (HQ) sea freight price plummeted from US$17,000 to about US$10,000. After this sharp decline, except for a slight increase in May, the prices steadily decreased for the remaining months, reaching the lowest price of around $1,600 in December. Since 2023, the prices have fluctuated slightly with a peak of $2,050 in August and subsequent declines. The transit time for these ports is relatively shorter, ranging from 16 to 18 days.
In other US ports, such as New York, Savannah, Charleston, Norfolk, Houston, and Miami, 40GP (HQ) ocean freight rates have generally shown a downward trend. The prices decreased from nearly $16,000 at the beginning of 2022 to around $3,500 at the end of the year. Since 2023, the prices have fluctuated around $3,000, with October seeing fluctuations around $2,500. Similar to all major ports in Europe, the transit time for these ports is approximately 35 days.
By comparing the 40GP (HQ) shipping prices in these major ports in Europe and the United States in 2022 and 2023, the current 40GP (HQ) shipping price is almost the lowest level in the past two years. If you plan to transport goods, it is recommended to seize this opportunity and avoid potential future ocean freight rate increases.
If you are in Europe, you can also choose rail transportation. Currently, rail transportation is available from three cities in China: Shenzhen, Ningbo, and Xi'an. Because the transportation time is faster, the price of rail transportation will be slightly higher than that of sea transportation. Please see the table below for details:
We will update real-time transportation information, if you have any questions, please contact us.
