For example, spot rates from Asia to the U.S. West Coast increased more than 15-fold during the pandemic and have since returned to pre-crisis levels as trade between the world's two largest economies cools after a frenetic pace.

Container spot rates from Europe to the U.S. East Coast remain more than double what they were at the end of 2019.

An estimated 70% of goods transported in containers on board ships do so under long-term contracts - not on the spot market - and those agreements were renegotiated in 2021 and 2022 at much higher rates. Large retailers and manufacturers may not yet be seeing enough reductions in freight rates to justify a further price cut.

This tightness may help explain why inflation in some regions remains stubbornly high. Indeed, US producer prices rebounded in january more than expected, underscoring the persistence of inflationary pressures. In the euro area, core inflation reached a record high in January, revised data showed last week.

But many companies now face lasting increases in one of their biggest costs: labor.

Higher costs for fuel, industrial equipment and major capital expenditures, such as new and used trucks, continue to abound. Driver wages have risen substantially, as have maintenance costs for all modes of freight transportation.

Translated by: A.M