Every briefing, newest first. 47 in total, published daily since we started. If you are looking for a specific topic rather than a specific day, the topic hubs are the faster route.
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Asia-Europe spot rates rose 6% to 7% this week, ending a three-month decline. US political pressure on Cosco could lead to slower port processing for their vessels.
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Beijing is investigating brake failures in intelligent vehicles, which may trigger wider quality audits for EV exporters. Hong Kong is expanding air cargo capacity to 2 million tonnes to secure its hub status.
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China to North Europe air rates fell 7% last week while transpacific air rose 3%, so your lane choice now decides your margin. The EU’s abolished €150 customs exemption is showing up in the data, with China and Hong Kong imports at Frankfurt down 1.8% and 7.4% in September. China’s September trade surplus hit $133.5 billion, which keeps tariff pressure from Brussels and Washington running hot into 2027 contract season.
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The split is now official: Evergreen says transpacific rates will stay supported by US import demand into the new year while Asia-Europe stays weak, and the Port of LA’s record 1.42 million TEU September backs that up. If you ship to the US, expect firm rates and book early. If you ship to Europe, you have negotiating room, but typhoon knock-on delays are still degrading schedule reliability on both trades.
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Far East to Europe schedule reliability collapsed to 4% on-time in September with 9.9 days average delay, the worst month since 2021, so date your stock on the delay, not the booking. China to US West Coast spot rates hit $7,717 per FEU, four times last September, and analysts warn spot indices no longer reflect the wider market. Plan arrivals with at least eight days of buffer and keep rate commitments short.
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A US fighter jet disabled the Panama-flagged freighter Ocean Molica in the Gulf of Oman on 10 October for allegedly running the Iran blockade, the fourth merchant ship hit since enforcement resumed in July. If any of your cargo touches Gulf routing or Iranian-linked tonnage, your risk exposure changed this weekend. Closer to home, China’s logistics activity index came in at 51.5% for September, a fifth straight month of expansion, so domestic capacity and rates stay firm into peak.
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China has agreed to cut hybrid car exports to the EU by more than half over four years, the first time Beijing has moderated exports before a trade fight. Tanker hire now costs more than a SpaceX launch, which will feed into fuel surcharges on every lane. Asia-Europe 2027 contract talks have started with shippers holding the stronger hand.
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Golden Week is over and transpacific spot rates have barely moved, with Asia to US West Coast at $8,322 per FEU and delays of seven to 10 days at Shanghai. Asia-Europe rates keep falling, down 34% from July on Far East to North Europe, which hands you leverage in 2027 contract talks. Book transpacific space now, negotiate Europe hard.
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US container imports hit a record 2,546,261 TEU in September, with China-origin volume up 4.5% on August to 924,454 TEU, so demand on your lane is strong even as spot rates to Europe fall by a third or more since July. Tender season favours you right now: carriers are cutting long-term deals and even forwarders are getting better rates. If you ship to FBA, Amazon’s two new China to US air options give you a 7 to 15 day replenishment window with no inbound placement fee.
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A $100 billion gap between what China reports shipping to the US and what US Customs records receiving points to transshipment, mis-invoicing or both. The Arctic route carried 14,000 TEU this summer with half the transit time of Suez, dominated by high-value cargo. COSCO faces a potential $16.7 million penalty for ignoring an FMC order for 223 days.
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Carriers have blanked 39 sailings between 5 October and 8 November across the three main east-west trades, cutting capacity by 5% at the exact moment Chinese factories reopen and export volumes gear up. Teu-mile demand fell for the first time since January, driven by Golden Week blanks, newbuild deliveries, and more ships shifting back to Suez. If you have stock ready in the next two weeks, expect allocation games and premium pricing.
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The container rate gap between Asia-US and Asia-Europe has reached historic levels, with Transpacific gains slowing to 2% this week after September’s sprint while Europe drops for the 12th consecutive week. Air cargo enters Q4 peak with capacity tight on tech lanes and loose everywhere else, meaning your routing choice now determines whether you get space or pay double.
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Spot rates from China to the US reached their 2026 peak on 1 October and will decline through year-end, but Xeneta forecasts floor prices of $6,000-7,000 to USEC and $4,500-5,500 to USWC, not a collapse. If you locked long-term contracts below those levels, you won the year. If you are riding spot into Q4, budget for those ranges and expect your margin to compress accordingly.
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From 19 October 2026, Maersk will hit any 20ft box over 25 tonnes into Germany and Poland with a $400 Heavy Load Surcharge, down from 28 tonnes. Maersk and CMA CGM are also ending their ASAS2 Asia to East Coast South America loop after the 8 December Shanghai sailing, and ONE is folding its Hong Kong regional HQ into Singapore from April 2027. Check your heavy 20ft bookings this week.
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Container line executives say September congestion at Asian ports stripped out functional capacity on the trans-Pacific, and the peak season now has a longer tail than anyone planned for. Spot rates from the Far East to the US plateaued as Golden Week began on 1 October, with Xeneta calling the post-Hormuz peak for 2026. If you still have Q4 cargo on the water or unbooked, expect slower sailings and fewer open slots through October.
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Almost all global carriers will trial Suez transits on Asia-Europe sailings in October, with the Premier Alliance’s One Continuity first through on 19 October. Shanghai’s on-time berthing fell to 12% in August and Asian schedule reliability sits at 32%, so whatever route your box takes, pad your lead times. Maersk is adding $250 to $500 per container to South Africa and Mauritius from 15 October.
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The US-China trade truce now runs past 10 November and trans-Pacific spot rates hit a 2026 high of $8,400 per FEU to the West Coast, so book your Q4 space before Golden Week ends rather than after. The Hormuz closure is approaching its eighth month and looks set to permanently strip transhipment traffic from Jebel Ali and Khalifa. In the air, hi-tech freight at 3m tonnes has overtaken Chinese ecommerce as the main growth engine, which means more competition for the capacity you rely on.
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Asia-Europe spot rates fell 4% last week to $3,485 per 40-foot container on Shanghai-Rotterdam, and carriers responded by announcing October rate hikes starting 19 October. Transpacific rates moved the opposite direction, climbing 5% as capacity tightens. The US-China tariff relief list covers $30bn of goods each way but excludes most of what ecommerce sellers move.
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China and the US announced tariff cuts on $30bn of goods each, covering 1,696 product lines, but the deal lands too late to change weakening transpac rates and does not touch the port fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated vessels, which restart 10 November unless USTR acts. Soybeans remain subject to an additional 10% tariff in China, and the whole deal still requires domestic legal procedures before it takes effect.
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China to US West Coast spot rates closed at $8,446 per FEU on 23 September, nearly double the 12-month average, whilst Mediterranean rates fell 50% from July peaks. Bookings data shows European demand is up 38% year over year, so the Med collapse is a supply story, not a demand one. If you ship to Europe, ask for October quotes now before carriers realise they have overcorrected.
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