Register Free Trial The container freight rate rally received another boost heading into August as carriers pushed through rate increases across the Transpacific, Latin America, India subcontinent and Middle East routes with the SCFI composite index rebounding by 4.7% as it clawed back part of its recent losses and defying the weakness on the Asia-Europe route where freight rates remain under downward pressure. Cargo demand remains strong out of Asia, and persistent port congestion in China has

Maersk will launch a new West Coast Shuttle service connecting Guayaquil, Balboa, Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Balboa, Guayaquil from 20 September 2026. The service will turn in 21 days and deploy 3 ships of 2,500 teu starting with the 2,556 teu AS PALINA at Guayaquil on 20 September 2026.

COSCO will join Yang Ming on a revamped Japan-Taiwan-South China (JTS) service serving Nagoya, Tokyo, Yokohama, Keelung, Kaohsiung, Shekou, Xiamen, Nagoya from 18 July 2026. The service will turn in 21 days using 3 ships of 1,400-1,800 teu with COSCO's 1,702 teu QING YUN HE joining the service at Nagoya at 5 August 2026, operating alongside 2 more ships from Yang Ming using the 1,440 teu CAPE FELTON and 1,803 teu YM INAUGURATION. The service replaces Yang Ming's previous JTS that operate on an

Register Free Trial While Houthis choke the Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi oil exports, containerships are still using the strait to deliver cargo to Jeddah and other Red Sea ports with several carriers including Maersk and CMA CGM also sticking to their trans-Suez transits. The pause in military exchanges is providing little clarity on the direction of the market, although container freight futures anticipate freight rates to drop from their recent peaks despite the recent rise in fuel prices. Despite

PIL will split its existing Mozambique Service (MZS) into 3 new services from August 2026 with enhanced coverage of Mozambique, Madagascar and Mascarene Islands that will be served separately as follows: * Mozambique 1 (MZ1) will call at Singapore, Beira, Singapore on a 14 day rotation using the 3,075 teu KOTA KAMIL and KOTA KARIM from 23 August 2026. * Mozambique 2 (MZ2) will call at Singapore, Maputo, Nacala, Singapore on a rolling 30-35 days rotation on an 15-20 day frequency with the 1,80

Zim will launch the ZIM Falcon Service (ZFS) to connect Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranagua, Navegantes, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Shanghai from 13 September 2026. The service will be operated exclusively by Zim using 11 ships of 7,000 to 11,000 teu on a 77 day rotation starting with the 9,034 teu ZIM WILMINGTON at Shanghai on 13 September. It will replace Zim's existing ASE service that it operates in partnership with Maersk that will be terminated following

Register Free Trial The renewed military conflict in the Persian Gulf kept the Strait of Hormuz shut last week, but Maersk and CMA CGM have continued to send their ships through the Red Sea despite the increased risk of Houthi attacks. Although only 24 containerships remain idle in the Persian Gulf with a total capacity of 69,000 teu, there is a growing number of Iranian ships that are stranded in various Asian anchorages that have been added to the idle fleet. The rising tensions is giving con

DP World Shipping Solution's Med carrier Unimed will launch a new Intra Adriatic Service (IAS) connecting Rijeka, Trieste, Ravenna, Ancona, Rijeka, Venice, Rijeka from 23 July 2026. The service will turn in 14 days using 2 ships of 1,100-1,200 teu starting with the 1,118 teu CONTSHIP LUV at Rijeka on 23 July 2026 followed by the 1,216 teu MORAGA a week later.

Sea Legend will restart its China-Europe Arctic Express (CAX) service connecting Ningbo and Felixstowe from 12 August 2026. 8 westbound sailings are planned to coincide with the 2026 Northern Sea Route (NSR) season, following just a single trial voyage in 2025. Last year, Sea Legend deployed the 4,890 teu ISTANBUL BRIDGE from Ningbo on 23 September 2025 and completed its Arctic voyage to Felixtowe in 21 days. After additional calls at Hamburg, Gdansk and Rotterdam, the ship returned via the Sue

CMA CGM will launch a new Kora Express service connecting Southampton, Vlissingen, Antwerp, Tanger Med, Algeciras, Tema, Lekki, Cotonou, Dakar, Southampton from 25 August 2026. The service will turn in 42 days using 6 ships of 3,400 to 4,400 teu starting with the 3,461 teu NAVIOS VERANO at Southampton on 25 August 2026. Following the launch of the Kora service, CMA CGM will revise the rotation of the current EURAF5 service to the southern range ports of West Africa and omit the current calls at

Maersk will resume the trans-Suez routing on the Salalah-West Africa WAF6 service from July 2026, replacing the current route via the Cape of Good Hope. The WAF6 service calls at Salalah, Tangier Med, Algeciras, Tema, Lagos, Salalah and turns in 70 days using the Cape route in both directions with 10 ships of 4,400 to 5,000 teu deployed. The revised trans-Suez westbound route will cut the rotation down to 56 days, reducing total vessel deployment by 2 ships. Maersk has already started making Su

Register Free Trial The SCFI retreated by 4.3% last week after a 10-week run of successive rate hikes as new capacity additions relieved some of the vessel space tightness that has driven spot rate gains of over 70% since April. Carriers failed to hold on to the early July rate hikes as rates receded across the board. Although carriers are still pushing for 2 more rounds of rate hikes on 15 July and 1 August, rates appears to have peaked for now with space constraints starting to ease with new