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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The Trump administration extended its suspension of port fees on Chinese-built vessels until 10 January 2027, giving you two months of breathing room before shipping costs rise again. Transpacific spot rates hit $11,445 per FEU to the US east coast this week and analysts expect another uptick in early October before Golden Week capacity comes back.
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Chinese ports handled a record 7.3 million TEU in the week ending 20 September, 9% above last year and accelerating from 6% earlier this month. The surge preceded the Trump-Xi summit and appears driven by exporters rushing goods ahead of possible tariff increases. If you have Q4 inventory in a factory right now, you are not alone and the freight schedule reflects that.
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A defence cargo control failure shows how easily chain of custody breaks in mixed commercial networks. Transpac container rates are set to hold through the off-season because Panama Canal cuts and port congestion still choke effective capacity. China’s LPG buyers are back to pre-trade-war volumes by splitting cargoes to defer duty, a tactic worth watching if Section 301 rates climb again.
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Chinese ecommerce exports to the EU fell 65% year on year in August, the second month of collapse since the €3-per-item fee took effect. Meanwhile, container schedule reliability on Far East–Europe dropped to 6%, with delays averaging 8.2 days, levels not seen since late 2021. If you have stock moving through Europe right now, your arrival date is fiction.
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Transpacific spot rates rose another 5% to 7% last week and now sit 324% above February levels, closing in on the peaks last seen during Covid disruption. Carriers are adding capacity to chase the margin, Golden Week blanks are lighter than usual, and the divergence with Europe is now in its seventh week.
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The transpacific lane and the Asia-Europe lane moved in opposite directions in week 38, with Shanghai to North America spot rates climbing 28% whilst Shanghai to North Europe dropped 5% to $2,425 per FEU. If you have stock on the water to Rotterdam, you caught a falling rate. If you are booking LA or New York right now, you are paying the highest spread between the two trades on record.
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CMA CGM removed Hong Kong from its CIMEX1 service this week, forcing shippers to reroute through Shenzhen or Nansha. The US and China are discussing tariff cuts on $30 billion of goods ahead of Xi Jinping’s Washington visit on 24 September, which could signal wider trade relief if it lands.
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Container spot rates from China to the US East Coast reached $11,259 per FEU on 17 September, just 11% below the pandemic record set in January 2022. FedEx adds demand surcharges on China imports starting 21 September, with per-pound fees climbing to $0.91 on express services. If you have stock on the water, your landed cost just changed again.
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Maersk is pulling its TPX transpacific service on 29 September, the last sailing before Golden Week, and keeping it suspended through Q4. The Fed raised rates by 25 basis points to 4%, the first increase since 2023, which makes dollar-denominated freight bills more expensive if you are holding stock on credit. WiseTech says ocean freight risk on Asia-North America and Asia-Europe will stay elevated for the next four weeks, with schedule reliability deteriorating.
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Far East to Europe reliability collapsed to 6% on-time in August with average delays of 8.2 days, matching the worst of the pandemic. Four typhoons laid up 1.1 million TEU across Ningbo and Shanghai, and global reliability is now 29% after three months of decline. If you have stock on the water, add ten days to whatever your forwarder told you.
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China opened the Pinglu Canal today, carving 560 kilometres off the inland journey from Nanning to the Beibu Gulf and creating a direct waterway to Vietnam. Separately, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index rose for the seventh consecutive week, reaching 3,662 points and approaching the all-time high set in 2024. If you ship from southwestern China or through Guangzhou, routing just changed.
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Europe sources 67% of its active pharmaceutical ingredients from outside the region, with China and India controlling upstream supply, and that dependency is structural rather than temporary. Four more Gemini Asia-Europe services return to Suez westbound, improving schedule reliability but adding political risk. Freight costs on Gulf crude to China hit $162/mt, yet Beijing will not adjust fuel pricing, squeezing refiner margins.
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CMA CGM will impose a $4,000/FEU peak season surcharge on 1 October for Asia to US routes, double its current rate, as port congestion in Shanghai and Ningbo leaves vessels waiting twelve days and backlogs exceed 4 million TEU. The disrupted schedules are pushing congestion downstream to south China and southeast Asia, keeping capacity tight through Golden Week.
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Two carriers reshuffled their intra-Asia networks this week, tightening slot availability between China and Indonesia and moving port calls across the Philippines. If you consolidate in Shanghai for onward sale in Southeast Asia, your lane just got smaller and your backup options fewer.
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Four consecutive typhoons created berthing delays lasting two weeks across Shanghai, Ningbo and Yantian, and those delays will persist into October. Transpacific spot rates now sit 7% below COVID peaks at $10,955 to the US East Coast while carriers blank eight sailings next week to hold the line. The Red Sea is open again for some services, but the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and Gulf rates have broken every previous record.
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Intra-Asia container rates climbed 9% in a week to $1,312 per 40ft as typhoon-related port congestion in China and transhipment bottlenecks in Busan, Hong Kong and Singapore tied up vessel supply. Air cargo shows no sign of a traditional Q4 peak, with forwarders expecting only modest tightening around Golden Week and Black Friday rather than the sharp surge that usually marks this time of year.
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The first scheduled Arctic container service from China reached the UK on 9 September after a 25-day voyage, cutting transit time by a third compared to Suez. Asian port congestion reached 4.3 million TEU, higher than the pandemic peak, pushing carriers back toward Suez and pulling down Shanghai-Europe rates 5% to 10% week on week. If you have stock on the water to Europe, your transit just got less predictable as carriers swap routes mid-season.
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Air cargo out of China and Hong Kong split hard in August: US volumes up 13% year on year, Europe down 14%, with Hong Kong to Europe worst at minus 30%. Ocean rates are easing off peak but bunker fuel at June levels means they will not fall far, and typhoon congestion is keeping capacity tight.
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China opens the Pinglu Canal on 15 September, halving transport costs from Nanning to South-east Asia. Hong Kong to Europe air cargo tonnages fell 30% year on year in August as EU duty changes persist. Gemini dropped Shanghai from its Asia shuttle, citing reliability, whilst typhoon delays at Shanghai and Ningbo exceed 10 days.
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COSCO Shipping ordered 18 containerships worth $3 billion with deliveries starting 2028, which will add 283,000 TEU to capacity on your lanes. The same week, two US officials accused COSCO of using concealed equipment aboard vessels to collect military communications, which COSCO denies. Neither story changes what you do Monday morning, but the first one tells you capacity will stay loose through the end of the decade, and the second one adds political noise to an already complicated relationship with the world’s third-largest carrier.
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