Spot container rates for shipping goods to the U.S. from Asia have spiked over the past month as companies look to avoid higher tariffs and pad their inventories ahead of a threatened port strike.

The world’s No. 2 container carrier urged customers to remove cargo from East and Gulf Coast ports in the U.S. to avoid the possible strike.

Global goods trade in 2025 will grow less then initially forecast, the World Trade Organization said, as rising instability weighs on economic activity and threatens to disrupt shipping.

The world’s top container carrier is urging customers to move U.S. cargo through East and Gulf Coast ports before the planned start on Oct. 1 of a dockworkers strike.

Global merchandise trade is recovering from last year’s slump, the World Trade Organization said, as one of its barometers for activity rose further above the longer-term average pace.

The global container shipping industry saw profits surge to more than $10 billion in the second quarter on record volumes and rising freight rates after Red Sea diversions.

Inflation looks to be easing across the developed world, except for one glaring pocket of hot prices: cargo costs on the high seas.

Nearly six months into the Houthis’ relentless campaign to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, the economic fallout is widening.

Companies transporting goods from Asia face costs of as much $10,000 for an urgent full-size shipping container over the next month — about double current spot rates.

Global goods trade is showing signs of accelerating after last year’s slump, pushing up shipping rates and giving some supply chain managers flashbacks to the demand spike three years ago.