Shipping congestion adds to inflation

According to a recent article in Seatrade Maritime News, average long-term container freight rates have risen 23.5% since December 2020 as shipping lines take advantage of a surge in volumes. Port congestion confounded by the Suez Canal blockage in late March have all added to this rise.

One Finance engineering clients have been reporting for months increased costs associated with shipping and raw materials.  Door hardware suppliers have run low on stock and had to pay more for landing stock through air-freight.  All of this is set to be passed on to the end user. Will this and local minimum wage changes put pressure on inflation. Certainly, the major Bank’s chief economists believe so and some of this is expected in Q4 2021.