US online shopping boom amid Covid-19 buoys Asia's shipping industry

US online shopping boom amid Covid-19 buoys Asia's shipping industry
SEP 22, 2020

SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) - An online home shopping boom in the US has sent transpacific sea freight rates to the highest on record, helping the container shipping industry in Asia.

Exports of household appliances from South Korea to the US jumped 51 per cent in August from the same period a year ago, climbing for a third consecutive month, Korea Customs Service data show. Shipments of computers, notebooks and other associated gadgets soared 169 per cent.

The increased consumer demand has seen shipping rates on the transpacific route almost triple from this year's low in March, when the coronavirus pandemic led to border closures and a near halt in economic activity.

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