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Ocean Freight

Container shipping rates, chokepoint disruptions, carrier surcharges, and logistics developments that affect furniture and textile importers.

Signal Report·8 min read

Hormuz Risk Rises as Asia-Europe Container Rates Fall

Drewry's World Container Index ended this period almost where it began, but the lanes beneath it split: Shanghai–New York rose to $10,220 while Shanghai–Rotterdam fell to $3,337 as Suez services returned. The Strait of Hormuz is moving more oil and is no safer for ships — Iran's Revolutionary Guard said this month it struck the gas carrier NV Sunshine. Polypropylene resin into Turkey still sits 45% above its pre-war level.

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Ocean FreightIran War & Trade Impact
Weekly Brief·8 min read

Gaziantep Courts France and Italy as Imports Fall

Container rates reversed three weeks of declines in early August with the Strait of Hormuz still shut, and FurniPulse's materials tracker shows resin and polyester chips far above pre-war levels. Against a smaller US import pipe, a Gaziantep carpet delegation is targeting Paris and Milan, Cover Magazine's rug coverage sat in the design channel, and Las Vegas Market bedding vendors talked about store performance rather than product. The operators worth copying changed where they sell.

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Ocean FreightRaw Materials & Input Costs