This week delivered two very different signals from the container shipping market. On one side, carriers are betting billions on future capacity: Maersk has officially confirmed an order for twenty-six large LNG dual-fuel container vessels, the biggest single newbuilding batch in its modern history. On the other side, the present-day network is running close to its limits, with a third typhoon in three months disrupting Shanghai and Ningbo, the Panama Canal cutting daily transits again, and spot rates on the China to Middle East trade climbing toward record territory. For exporters moving cargo out of China to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the message of the week is that capacity relief is a 2029 story, while congestion surcharges and elevated rates are a this-month story.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index released on September 22 rose 0.7 percent to 3,687.83 points, its eighth consecutive weekly increase, with the transpacific trades doing almost all of the lifting.
| Benchmark (as dated) | Reading | Move |
|---|---|---|
| SCFI composite (Sep 22) | 3,687.83 points | **plus 0.7 percent, eighth straight rise** |
| SCFI, Shanghai to US West Coast | USD 7,560 / FEU | plus 3.0 percent |
| SCFI, Shanghai to US East Coast | USD 10,579 / FEU | plus 1.0 percent |
| SCFI, Shanghai to Europe | USD 2,425 / TEU | down 4.7 percent |
| SCFI, Shanghai to Mediterranean | USD 3,125 / TEU | down 5.3 percent |
| SCFI, Shanghai to Southeast Asia | USD 1,104 / TEU | **plus 9.31 percent** |
| CCFI composite (Sep 22) | 1,897.15 points | plus 1.9 percent |
Xeneta data from September 17 still frames how extreme the transpacific cycle has become: Far East to US East Coast spot rates average around 11,259 USD per FEU, up 325 percent since the Strait of Hormuz conflict began in February, and sit roughly 11 percent below the 2022 pandemic peak of 12,683 USD. Far East to US West Coast readings near 7,960 USD are about 18 percent below their 9,699 USD peak. The dry bulk market is strong as well, with the Baltic Dry Index at 3,399 points on September 21, up about 85 percent year to date.
On September 18, Maersk ended weeks of speculation and confirmed an order for 26 container vessels of 18,600 TEU each, all fitted with dual-fuel engines able to run on LNG. Deliveries are scheduled for 2029 and 2030, and the carrier has not disclosed the shipyards, the contract value, or how the ships will be allocated across its network.
The context matters for shippers:
For cargo owners the practical takeaway is simple: this steel arrives in 2029 and 2030, so it does nothing to ease congestion in 2026 or 2027. The choice of 18,600 TEU rather than 24,000 TEU designs does give Maersk more flexibility to move ships between trades, which can help capacity management in tight quarters, but it also confirms that the largest carriers intend to defend market share through the next cycle.
While the orderbook grows, the current network took another weather hit. Typhoon Saudel forced cumulative operational suspensions of about 78 hours at Ningbo, roughly 54 hours at Yangshan and 48 hours at Waigaoqiao in Shanghai, according to operational data reported by Kuehne+Nagel. As of September 8, the seven-day average vessel waiting time stood at 4.72 days in Shanghai and 3.58 days in Ningbo, with Waigaoqiao terminals WGQ2 and WGQ5 above 9 days, Yangshan YS12 above 7 days, and yard utilisation at the Meishan terminal above 90 percent.
Drewry weekly data shows the drag persisting: average waiting time in Shanghai rose from 65 hours in Week 36 to 78 hours in Week 37, while Ningbo climbed 11 hours to 77 hours. The calendar makes recovery harder. The Mid-Autumn Festival runs September 25 to 27, the National Day holiday follows from October 1 to 7, and that leaves only about three normal working weekdays in between for ports to clear accumulated cargo. Linerlytica expects the existing backlog to keep vessels heavily utilised through the holiday period even as new export production slows.
The trades that matter most for our clients, China to the Middle East and intra-Asia, are the hottest part of the market right now. Drewry reports that its Intra-Asia Container Index rose 6 percent to 1,402 USD per 40 ft container, an all-time high for the fourth consecutive week, driven by pre-Golden Week demand and a network still readjusting after repeated operational disruptions.
The Panama Canal tightened further rather than easing: daily transit slots were cut from an average of 36 to 32 from mid-September, a restriction the canal authority says will hold until further notice because of El Nino related rainfall shortfalls. Non-booked vessels are reportedly waiting 8 to 9 days for a slot, and Hapag-Lloyd has introduced a 155 USD per TEU Panama Canal Charge on affected trades.
In Africa, Hapag-Lloyd added a 250 USD per TEU reefer congestion surcharge at Tema in Ghana, and Durban Gateway Terminal moved to waive storage charges as it works through congestion. In Bangladesh, the Chittagong Port Authority has proposed extending its maritime jurisdiction about 10 nautical miles northward toward Mirsarai to create additional anchorage space and ease outer-anchorage congestion, according to The Financial Express. Chattogram depot operators have also raised inland depot charges by about 10 percent, and the proposed 205 million USD concession of the New Mooring Container Terminal to DP World continues to draw scheduled labour protests, including a human chain on September 22 and a planned sit-in on October 5. NCT handles close to half of the volume at a port that moved 3.56 million TEU in 2025, so any escalation there translates directly into waiting time for ships on the berth.
The combination of a confirmed capacity arms race and a congested present is the defining feature of this market: carriers are spending billions on a future fleet while the current supply of usable vessel slots remains scarce. For shippers from China, the practical play is unchanged: book early, quote door-to-door, and treat documentation as part of the freight.
*Spider Logistics provides ocean and air freight, customs clearance and door-to-door service from China to Bangladesh, Israel, Africa and the Middle East. Contact us for a current all-in quotation on your next shipment.*