Latin American plastic product manufacturers have been facing a significant surge in freight costs from Asia to the Americas since early April, with prices exceeding $10,000 per 40-foot container (FEU) heading into June, compared with approximately $1,170/FEU at the end of March.

The phenomenon is connected to a logistics readjustment following disruptions on major global shipping routes since last year. But the current situation also has a unique cause: electric vehicles imports from China to Latin America.

This window of opportunity exploited by Chinese manufacturers has overloaded ships on the China-Brazil route, both for cars and containers filled with spare parts and components. Importers of other materials, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), have been significantly affected.