China shipping: freight rates tumble as coronavirus controls slow export growth | South China Morning Post

High shipping rates that have plagued Chinese businesses over the past year have tumbled more than 20 per cent since March, as export growth in the world's No 2 economy stagnates due to stringent lockdowns in Shanghai and other parts of the country. Strict zero-Covid controls helped send China's export growth to its lowest rate in almost two years in April, with hopes of recovery set to face multiple headwinds from prolonged lockdowns, global inflation and geopolitical tensions. Although daily coronavirus cases have dropped to one tenth of their peak level in Shanghai, and some factories have resumed production, restrictions…