War in Iran Sends Art Shipping Costs Soaring Across Asia
Art logistics firms are absorbing a sharp shock as the United States and Israel’s war in Iran continues to disrupt air and sea freight, with the steepest effects landing in Asia. In the opening weeks of the conflict, international air freight costs for fine art rose by as much as 300 percent, according to Wang Jianmin, founder of the Chinese logistics company Top Space Art Service.
The pressure is uneven. Within China, where oil prices are more tightly controlled by the state and reserves are substantial, logistics costs have climbed by a far smaller margin, reaching 15 percent. Elsewhere in the region, the fallout has already altered exhibition plans and fair shipments.
At the He Art Museum in Shunde, China, an exhibition of Danish artist Per Kirkeby (1938–2018) opened with fewer works after some pieces were stranded at Doha International Airport. Artworks bound for Art Basel Hong Kong were also delayed, remaining at sea for more than a month on a route from Abu Dhabi, according to Jerome Sozzi, general manager of Bonds Fine Art Logistics in Hong Kong.
The disruption is pushing some shippers to look for alternatives. One option is the China-Europe Railway Express, a state-supported network connecting 128 cities in China with 232 urban centers in 26 European countries. For a shipment from Xi’an to Venice, the train route could carry a surcharge of only $100, compared with a $600 surcharge and a delay of ten days or more by sea freight.
The financial strain is already reshaping decisions. Wang said some international clients have postponed or canceled projects in China after learning that costs exceeded budgets by more than 50 percent. Sozzi said Bond Fine Arts Logistics could see yearly turnover fall by as much as 8 percent, though he cautioned that the conflict is still too recent for firm forecasts.
For now, many firms are choosing to absorb extra expenses rather than pass them on immediately. As Wang put it, the priority is survival and partnership — a sign of how quickly geopolitical conflict can ripple through the art market’s most practical, and most fragile, systems.
