Container shipping is facing multiple headwinds. Drewry expects a total of 39 cancelled departures on the major East-West routes between calendar weeks 41 and 45. This time window runs from October 5 to November 8, 2026. Out of 710 planned departures, approximately 5 percent will fall away.
Five percent may sound modest at first. However, when a weekly service is cancelled, its cargo is pushed to the next departure. This creates a shortage of slots, containers stack up, and connections are missed. According to Drewry, the transpacific route as well as Asia–North Europe and Asia–Mediterranean routes are particularly affected.
In parallel, shipping lines are attempting to drive rates back up. MSC announced a FAK rate of USD 3,150 per TEU and USD 4,500 per 40-foot container for Asia–North Europe starting October 19. FAK stands for "Freight All Kinds," meaning a published base rate for various standard goods. It is not automatically the actual market price. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index stood at USD 3,378 per 40-foot container on this route on October 2. The new MSC rate is thus approximately USD 1,122 higher. Whether it will hold in the market remains to be seen.
West Africa is also presenting challenges. Industry reports cite waiting times of more than ten days in Conakry and Freetown. For Tema, Hapag-Lloyd warned of up to ten days for discharge and loading, while current measurements showed an improvement to less than four days. These three ports should therefore not be lumped together.
Reefer containers are becoming additionally expensive. According to The Loadstar, CMA CGM announced a congestion surcharge of USD 400 per TEU for reefers to Tema. A 40-foot reefer with two TEU thus costs USD 800 more. Hapag-Lloyd added an additional USD 250 for reefers to Tema.