Cargo shipping rates around the world will likely fall for the second consecutive year in 2007 due to intensifying competition among shippers amid high oil prices, the South Korean government said Monday.

While shipping capacity worldwide is expected to come to 10.7 billion TEUs this year, up 13.9 percent from the previous year, the amount of container cargo to be handled will likely come to 485.1 million TEUs next year, up 9.7 percent on-year, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries said. TEU stands for a 20-foot equivalent unit.