A frantic rush of outbound shipments has hit China's busiest port, Shanghai, on the eve of Chinese New Year following an unexpected spike in export orders, the China Daily reported.

"The outgoing vessels that mainly head for Europe and America have been over-booked since last December in Shanghai," said Michelle Wang, deputy general manager of the ocean freight department for east and central China at UniLogistics, a privately owned Chinese freight forwarding company.

"We've seen the container freight price increase as high as US$200 per TEU since the start of this year."

According to Wang, the shipping price for cargo containers, on average, has risen three times on average a week since January.