According to The Loadstar, container spot freight rates held steady across major east-west trades during the week ending 11 September 2026, with transpacific routes rising slightly while Asia-Europe lanes declined — even as carriers blanked additional sailings to offset softer demand.
Transpacific Rates Remain Elevated Amid Capacity Discipline
Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) reported the Shanghai–Los Angeles rate at $7,352 per 40ft container, up 2% week on week, while the Shanghai–New York leg rose 1% to $9,726 per 40ft. Drewry expects stability next week, citing eight blanked sailings — up from seven this week — as a counterweight to easing demand. US West Coast forwarder Freight Right noted that rates are likely to stay elevated through the end of September, calling the current market “an extended peak season that began earlier than usual this year.”
The impending China Golden Week holiday — less than three weeks away — adds urgency, as a growing export backlog in Chinese ports compounds pressure. Linerlytica reported ships are now waiting up to 12 days for berths in Shanghai and Ningbo, which will make Golden Week operations critical for clearing cargo and could cause bunched vessel arrivals across Europe and North America through October.
CMA CGM Introduces $4,000 and $10,000 Peak Season Surcharges
CMA CGM announced it will introduce peak season surcharges (PSSs) effective 1 October: $4,000 per 40ft container from the Far East and Indian subcontinent to the US West Coast, and $10,000 per 40ft from the Indian subcontinent to the US East Coast. This move could trigger sharper increases in transpacific spot rates if other carriers follow suit.
A European forwarder told The Loadstar that capacity tightening — with three blanked sailings scheduled for next week versus one this week — is unlikely to reverse the downward trend on Asia-Europe routes. “The peak is pretty much behind us,” she said. She pointed to carriers placing time limits on the validity of their FAK pricing as evidence that further price hikes are improbable before Golden Week ends.
Asia-Europe and Transatlantic Rates Diverge
On Asia-Europe lanes, the WCI showed the Shanghai–Rotterdam route down 2% to $3,997 per 40ft, while Shanghai–Genoa fell 3% to $4,216 per 40ft. In contrast, transatlantic rates rose: the Rotterdam–New York leg climbed 3% week on week to $3,126 per 40ft — now 100% higher than at the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict.
Source: The Loadstar
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
