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Sky-high shipping rates show signs of shrinking as port backlogs ease
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Ocean carriers have raised their rates since mid-2021, as demand rose amid restricted capacity following the lifting of pandemic restrictions across countries.
PHOTO: AFP
BALI - Before Covid-19 hit, shipping a half-tonne life-sized rhinoceros sculpture abroad by sea was relatively straightforward and inexpensive, Ms Kristina Measari recalls.
The 36-year-old owner of Bisa Cargo in Bali, which specialises in arranging the freight and handling of outsized items - including giant busts of Buddha each the size of small cars - said that while rates for unwieldy objects vary, US$40 (S$55) per cubic metre was the norm before the pandemic.
