Trump’s tariffs raise South America, Northern Europe spot rates: As shippers move to increase transpacific US-bound route capacity and take advantage of a temporary pause in Washington’s sweeping tariffs, shipping capacity has shrunk on routes connecting the Far East to South America and Northern Europe, according to a report by ocean and air freight market intelligence firm Xeneta.

What happened? Since Trump announced a 90-day pause on his Liberation Day tariffs back in April, a shippers’ rush to import goods prompted a spike in average spot rates between 31 May and 1 June — 75% into the US West Coast and 58% into its East Coast. This oversupply quickly led to plummeting rates, especially to the US West Coast.

In numbers: Average spot rates to ship ocean containers from the Far East to the South American east coast surged by over 260% between 1 May and 16 July, climbing from around USD 1.9k to USD 6.9k per 40-ft equivalent unit (FEU). Spot rates to ship containers from the Far East to Northern Europe saw an 18% spike since the end of June, and a 78% rise since the end of May, now reaching USD 3.4k per FEU.

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