Container Crunch Means It Pays More to Sail Empty to Asia (1)

Shipping carriers seeking to capitalize on the most lucrative trade routes are returning empty cargo containers to Asia, contributing to freight rates that have soared to record highs.

Because the carriers aren’t first loading the boxes with exports before returning to Asia, the practice is pushing “demand for containers while simultaneously driving spot rates upward,” Josh Brazil, chief operations officer at data-analysis firm Ocean Insights, said in an email. Consumer demand is expected to remain elevated until the Lunar New Year holiday in February, he added.

Some 43.5% of containers at China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan port left on a different vessel ...