Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will carry out an assessment of the reasons for the recent increases in shipping costs for products from overseas, including the Far East, for wholesalers and suppliers in the UK.

My Department has been monitoring international shipping operations, and engaging closely, with the sector throughout the pandemic. Shipping costs during 2021 have risen to a global high level in international freight markets as a result of unprecedented levels of demand driven by changed consumer behaviour during the pandemic.

Historical trends in the shipping sector are of pricing peaks and troughs and although industry estimates that high levels of demand and pricing are likely to continue throughout 2021, it is expected that pricing levels should similarly re-adjust when the current demand drivers change.