Cargo owners feel the pinch of rising costs in the 2020s

CARGO owners are having to fork out far more to ship their goods this decade, new analysis from Clarksons Research shows, according to Singapore's Splash 247.

Freight markets have seen "huge volatility" in the 2020s, Clarksons noted in its most recent weekly report, primarily driven by the consecutive "disruption events" of Covid and the Ukraine conflict.

The average cost of freight in the 2020s so far has exceeded that in the 2010s with Clarksons breaking it down by cargo whereby the shipping of iron ore has been 18 per cent more expensive in the decade to date, grain 27 per cent, LPG 34 per cent, crude (by aframax) by 32 per cent while container shipping which has enjoyed record conditions for much of the 2020s has seen spot rates some 2 to 3.5 the average of the 2010s.

Alongside global events, underlying cost increases and inflation have also impacted, Clarksons pointed out, noting how the switch to low sulphur fuel has seen bunker costs for most ships shoot up by around 20 per cent versus the 2010s.

"Shipping markets remain (multi) cyclical, but the 2020s have so far left a material mark on transportation costs," Clarksons observed, concluding by warning that upcoming complex issues facing shipping such as decarbonization, fleet rental and geopolitics should be high up on cargo owners' "watchlists".