▲ Cranes unload containers at a port in the southeastern city of Busan in this file photo taken on April 2, 2023. (Yonhap)

freight rates-March tally

Container freight rates for major destinations rise on-month in March

SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- Outbound container shipping costs for major destinations, including the U.S. west coast and the European Union, advanced in March from a month earlier, data showed Monday, raising the burden for exporters.

The average rate for a 40-foot container from Asia's fourth-largest economy to the U.S. west coast reached 5.11 million won (US$3,911) last month, up 6.5 percent from February, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service (KCS).

Compared with the previous year, the cost was down 61.6 percent. The data is based on freight rates reported by local exporting companies.

The cost for freight heading to the EU came to 3.11 million won in March, up 2.3 percent on-month. That for China, the top trading partner of South Korea, increased 1.5 percent over the period to 861,000 won.

Meanwhile, container freight rates for the U.S. east coast and Vietnam fell 7 percent and 0.1 percent over the period, respectively.

The data also showed South Korean importers' cost for shipping a 40-foot container from the west and east coast of America rose 1.2 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively.

Those from the EU, on the other hand, fell 12.7 percent on-year.

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