Freight rates from China to Trinidad and Tobago have almost doubled in six months, and consumers are starting to feel it, according to Ramps Logistics CEO Shaun Rampersad.

Rampersad told the Trinidad Guardian that consumer goods prices have risen significantly as a result. He said logistics costs reach everything on a grocery shelf, along with the inputs manufacturers buy.

Separate analyst commentary in Business Guardian has cautioned that T&T should brace for higher imported food prices.

The pressure is not limited to one route. Bloomberg reported on Aug. 27 that global container rates more than doubled in the second quarter. According to Bloomberg, Drewry’s World Container Index peaked at US$4,639 per 40-foot container in the week to July 9. The figures measure different things: Rampersad spoke of the China lane, while the Drewry index is a broader benchmark.

Rampersad tied part of the increase to tariffs. Higher duties slow global trade, he said, and when less cargo moves between countries, the cost of moving each container rises, because freight pricing depends on volume. He said the government had kept T&T at the low end of US tariff increases, but that duties imposed elsewhere still reach local consumers.

The timing matters for retailers and food importers. Freight is a direct input cost for both, and the Ramps team said the country is entering one of its busiest import periods: the Christmas season.

Import-dependent CARICOM markets face similar imported inflation pressure. Jamaica’s inflation rate stands at 7.9 per cent.

Rampersad and Ramps innovation and solutions manager Gerard Rique will attend the Breakbulk Americas conference in Houston next week. They plan to present an updated version of the company’s MAWI logistics platform, which uses AI to automate customs tariff classification, and to look for ideas that could ease supply chain costs. Rique said clearer trade lanes could ultimately bring prices down.