Global freight rates across several key shipping routes have surged to record highs over the past month as war and climate change combine to disrupt trade. According to Sina Finance, pricing firm Argus said rates at major chokepoints including the Panama Canal, the Rhine, the Red Sea, the Black Sea and routes affected by the Strait of Hormuz blockade have set multiple records, raising concerns about higher consumer costs and supply chain fragility.

The article said conflict in the Middle East has nearly closed the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war accounted for about one-fifth of global seaborne oil and gas volumes, forcing ships to reroute in search of alternative energy supplies. It also said drought in Europe and Latin America has lowered water levels and further tightened capacity.

Argus data showed Panama Canal transit fees for two lock types reached $1.1 million and $2.5 million in early August, both record highs for the firm. Barge freight to Cologne, Duisburg, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe on the Rhine has climbed to its highest level since 2012. Oil freight from the Gulf to Asia reached $15.22 per barrel on August 10, the highest since Argus began assessing the route in 2005, while tanker freight from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean also hit at least a 2005-era high.

The container market showed similar pressure, with average spot freight from the Far East to the U.S. East Coast up 234% year on year to $10,249 per 40-foot container. The article said shipowners and analysts broadly believe the tightening across multiple nodes is pushing long-term charter rates toward, or close to, the record levels seen in the summer of 2008.