A freight train derailment in east London has severely disrupted rail connections serving London Gateway and Tilbury, with container backlogs threatening to build at two of the UK’s busiest gateways. Container movements through the Thames Estuary face significant disruption following…

Ocean freight rates on Asia–Europe trades are rising again after months of downward pressure, but contrasting market indicators and increasing blank sailings suggest the recovery is being driven as much by carrier capacity management as underlying cargo demand. The Asia–Europe…

Nearly two-thirds of Far East–Europe container shipping capacity is now operating through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, marking a significant shift away from Cape of Good Hope diversions, although security concerns and changing service rotations mean the return remains…

Strong import volumes, tightening trucking capacity and mounting difficulties returning empty containers are creating new challenges at major US ports, threatening delivery efficiency and increasing inland logistics costs. The pressures affecting America’s container gateways are changing. While vessel congestion and…

Global container volumes have reached another record high, with expanding trade flows across Asia, the Americas and Africa demonstrating the resilience of international commerce despite geopolitical uncertainty, rising transport costs and persistent shipping disruption. Global container trade reached 17.46 million…

Container shipping lines are adjusting capacity as Asian factories resume production following Golden Week, with relatively few cancelled sailings but contrasting conditions emerging on routes to Europe and the United States. As China’s Golden Week holiday ends and export activity…

Congestion across South Asia’s container shipping network is increasing costs and disrupting connections for US-bound cargo, while surging China–India demand and changing Middle East trade flows accelerate India’s emergence as a regional transhipment hub. India’s expanding manufacturing economy and the…

German dockworkers have accepted a new pay agreement, averting widespread port strikes, but record-low Rhine water levels continue to disrupt inland freight movements, increasing costs and threatening North European supply chains. North European importers have avoided another potential disruption after…

UK importers face an unusually volatile October as falling Asia–Europe freight rates collide with excess scheduled capacity, returning Suez services, short-notice blank sailings and continuing disruption across Asian ports. Ocean carriers are attempting to halt a 12-week decline in Asia–Europe…

India’s export surge is tightening ocean capacity, creating equipment shortages and increasing pressure on the inland road and rail networks that support its container gateways. Premier carrier sailings from West India, including Nhava Sheva and Mundra, remained largely sold out…

Transpacific shippers are entering October with ocean freight rates close to pandemic-era highs, continuing schedule disruption and a new cost pressure emerging after US diesel prices climbed sharply. The market may finally be approaching a turning point after five months…

Severe congestion across Asian container ports is tying up millions of TEU of capacity, driving schedule reliability to a four-year low and raising the prospect of disruption continuing well into 2027. Repeated typhoons, strong Asian export demand and congestion spreading…

Container lines are restoring services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, promising shorter Asia–Europe transits and more effective capacity. But the security picture around the Middle East’s critical shipping chokepoints is becoming more complicated, not less. More Asia–Europe services…

Global container trade is proving remarkably resilient, but record volumes mask a more complicated picture across the major east–west trades. Congestion, blank sailings and inland constraints are increasingly determining the conditions shippers experience. July set a new monthly record for…

Container shipping capacity continues to expand, but congestion, schedule disruption and longer delays are preventing a growing share of the global fleet from carrying cargo when and where shippers need it. For cargo owners, the size of the global container…

UK businesses sourcing from India face rising logistics costs before and after production, as more expensive Asian imports combine with tight westbound capacity and strong India–Europe demand. India continues to strengthen its position as a manufacturing and sourcing alternative for…

Strong US import demand, reduced vessel capacity and tighter Panama Canal restrictions are keeping transpacific shipping under pressure, with East Coast services facing particular constraints as September approaches. The transpacific market remains significantly firmer than Asia–Europe, despite signs that the…

Record-low water levels on the Rhine are creating another significant challenge for European supply chains, restricting barge capacity, increasing transport costs and putting additional pressure on already constrained road and rail networks. The Rhine is one of Europe’s most important…

Exporters across India and Bangladesh are facing a difficult combination of strong demand, restricted vessel space, equipment shortages and weather-related disruption, with pressure particularly acute on westbound services to Europe and North America. Although the underlying causes vary between the…

Container shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal is gradually increasing as major carriers test a return to the shorter Asia–Europe route, potentially signalling an important change for global supply chains. But this is far from a return to…

The transpacific market is entering an even firmer phase, with stronger cargo demand, restricted vessel capacity and new Panama Canal constraints combining to increase costs and tighten space, particularly into the US East and Gulf coasts. Spot rates indexes have…