Shares of Asian shipping companies fell sharply after U.S. port workers suspended a three-day strike, dashing hopes for higher freight rates as a result of limited supply.

Shares in shipping companies fell heavily across Asia on Friday after workers and U.S. port operators agreed a deal to end a strike on the East and Gulf coast docks far sooner than expected.

"The longer this goes, the more the impact scales, and really it starts to scale exponentially," Stifel analyst Bruce Chan said of the port strike.