In October, the ocean container shipping expense that Korean corporations pay when exporting to major countries, including the U.S. East Coast, the European Union (EU), and China, fell across the board from the previous month. This was due to a decrease in export volume bound for these regions.
The rush by countries to front-load export shipments before the U.S. Trump administration imposes high reciprocal tariff rates is easing. Also, last month's National Day holiday in China (Oct. 1–8) reduced export volume from China.
The Korea Customs Service announced the "Status of import and export transportation costs in October" on the 17th. The ocean export container (based on 2 TEU) rate to the U.S. East Coast was 5,343,000 won, down 2.8% from the previous month. It has fallen for four straight months since July.
Ocean rates to China fell 24.7% from the previous month. They declined from April to August, ticked up in September, then fell again. EU ocean rates also fell 11.6% from the previous month. After -3.8% in August and -6.5% in September, the decline widened. Japan ocean rates likewise fell 18.1%.
Import container ocean shipping expenses also declined broadly across major countries. Import ocean rates for the U.S. West Coast and the EU fell 0.85% and 5.2%, respectively, from the previous month. China and Japan also dropped 3.6% and 3.5%, respectively.