(Yicai Global) Oct. 11 -- China’s ocean freight costs have fallen sharply in the last month, especially to the US, as the country’s power outages lead to a drop in production and an easing in the demand for containers, but the future trend remains uncertain, the Securities Daily reported today.

The price to ship a forty-foot equivalent unit from China to the west coast of America plunged 22 percent on Oct. 8 to USD16,004 from Sept. 10, according to the Freightos Baltic Index. And that to the east coast was down 12.4 percent to USD19,421.

Shipping prices are declining now and many exporters are waiting to see if they will drop further, said Sun Wenfang, founder of the Global Logistics Alliance.

The price cut is likely to only be short-term, said Ming Ming, an analyst with CITIC Securities. The Christmas holiday is approaching, economies in developed Western countries are bouncing back, the overseas supply chain has not yet fully recovered and future shipping prices remain to be seen, he added.

Since the start of the year, international freight costs have jumped sharply as the pandemic led to a severe shortage of containers marooned overseas when demand for Chinese goods grew but foreign exports remained few. The cost to transport a 40-foot TEU had nearly quintupled by Sept. 10 from the beginning of the year.

The China Container Freight Index was 3,220.55 in the week ended Sept. 30, down 0.5 percent from the previous week, according to recent statistics from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The index for the US west coast fell 3.7 percent from the same period last year to 2,135.83, but the index for the US east coast dropped 7 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor