China’s booming car export industry has driven shipping rates to record highs

There’s probably never been a better time in history to be in the business of shipping cars across the world than the last couple of years, with freighters carrying 6,500+ cars earning as much as $115,000 every day as recently as March, according to data from Clarkson Research Service Ltd via Bloomberg. 

The ultra-lucrative period for companies in car cargo might be coming to an end, though, as the international vehicle-carrying fleet continues to grow and begins to outstrip demand going into the year ahead.

In November, earnings for car-carrying ships fell to $95,000 a day — obviously a still substantial figure and way above the pre-pandemic 21st century peak, but the first time that the rate has fallen below $100,000-a-day since September 2022. 

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