Vietnam-Europe freight rates spike on Red Sea conflict

The price for shipping a forty-foot container from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to Northern Europe has hit an average of US$3,700, 90 percent higher than in December of 2023, Tuoi Tre is reporting. This is as a result of conflict in the Red Sea which is seeing cargo ships diverted around Africa rather than using the Suez Canal. This has also pushed up shipping prices to the US. The cost of sending a forty-foot container from HCMC to the West Coast of the US increased by 55 percent to US$2,950.