£2,800 to ship a 40ft container from China to the UK. Now, he said, it costs him around £12,600, excluding UK port charges and the cost of transporting the goods from the ports to his premises.
“It’s quite mad what’s going on – I’ve no idea how to plan ahead. The one thing that’s always been stable is freight rates… [Now they are] absolutely astronomical,” he said.
Even though he has raised the prices of some products, Mr Evans insisted that he is making less money from these sales than before because of the shipping costs.
“I’m in the process of borrowing half a million from the bank to cover freight costs, and that’s only to cover the orders I already have. The consumer will pay for it ultimately – you’ve got to pass it on, most things come from China – [the shipping costs] affect everything. I do think prices will drop [eventually] but that’s no good now.”
