According to The Loadstar, surging westbound demand on the India–North Europe container trade is colliding with severe capacity shortages, forcing forwarders to book shipments four to six weeks in advance and triggering a $1,500 per-container peak season surcharge (PSS) from CMA CGM effective 22 July 2026.
Capacity collapse across major services
Analysis of Xeneta’s eeSea liner database shows that between 1 March and 8 July 2026, 51 out of 248 scheduled liner services between India and Europe — including both North Europe and Mediterranean ports — failed to sail. Of these, 43 were blanked and 8 cancelled due to delays and other events. As a result, total pro forma capacity for the period was cut from 1.59 million teu to 1.32 million teu, a reduction of 273,000 teu.
CMA CGM EPIC service misses 5 sailings
CMA CGM’s EPIC service — operated jointly with Cosco and OOCL — saw only 13 sailings depart India between March and April 2026, against a pro forma schedule of 18. The five blanked sailings reduced its offered capacity from 165,000 teu to 116,000 teu. This shortfall coincided with a sharp rebound in demand: Container Trade Statistics data through April 2026 shows strong growth in March and April volumes.
MSC IPAK omits key North European ports
MSC’s IPAK service experienced three blanked sailings and one skipped call across May and June 2026. Specific omissions included MSC Pegaus VII skipping London Gateway on 25 May, MSC Elaine omitting Rotterdam on 15 June and Bremerhaven on 22 June, and MSC Melissa missing Hamburg on 27 June. A European freight forwarder told The Loadstar:
“So now these continental European volumes were on the IPAK service, which called at the UK — that is capacity reduction.”
ONE’s IOX service operates at 58% schedule rate
Between 1 March and 8 July 2026, ONE’s IOX service — run with HMM (INX) and Yang Ming (ISE) — completed just 11 voyages out of a pro forma 19, reducing capacity from 103,000 teu to 62,000 teu. According to the forwarder, the service now runs “more like every 10 days” rather than weekly, extending delays for rolled cargo. Sea-Intelligence Consulting’s April/May 2026 reliability report found only 27.3% of IOX vessels arrived on time — far below 45.2% for CMA CGM’s EPIC and 88.2% for MSC’s IPAK.
Gemini services buck the trend
Two Gemini-operated strings stood apart: the India-Europe loop and India-Northern Europe loop achieved schedule reliability rates of 90.9% and 92.3%, respectively — the highest on the route. Both exceeded pro forma schedules, operating 19 sailings versus a planned 18, aided by extra loaders that added 10,000 teu of capacity to the trade.
Source: The Loadstar
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
