Shipping Costs Soar as Hormuz Crisis Reshapes Global Trade

The Middle East war has upended global shipping, raising bunker fuel costs, altering trade routes, and forcing shippers and their container cargo customers to adapt to a new reality.

Soaring costs of marine fuels have brought forward the peak cargo shipping season to the spring, ahead of additional fuel costs that vessel owners will roll into annual contracts as of July 1.

As a result of the expected higher fuel costs and in anticipation of potentially higher U.S. tariffs on imported goods as of July, imports of container cargo volumes jumped at…