Shipping: Containers

(asked on 20th April 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the recent rises in shipping container costs.


Answered by
Robert Courts Portrait
Robert Courts
Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This question was answered on 26th April 2022

My Department has been monitoring international shipping operations and engaging closely with the sector throughout the period of operational challenges and price rises. Shipping costs rose to a high level in international freight markets during 2021 as a result of unprecedented levels of demand driven by changed consumer behaviour during the pandemic, and global operational factors that impacted capacity. These issues continue in 2022.

Historical trends in the shipping sector are of pricing peaks and troughs, and it is expected that pricing levels will similarly re-adjust when the current demand drivers change, and operational factors improve.

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