The last week of October has turned into a pricing pivot point. On one side, the Drewry World Container Index closed 22 October at USD 4,585 per 40ft, its highest reading in 15 weeks, and three major carriers have now filed their November tariff resets across the Mediterranean, Black Sea, North Africa and Oceania. On the other side, Chattogram, the gateway that handles about 92 percent of the trade of Bangladesh, has restored truck and customs operations after a strike against a steep gate fee increase froze container delivery for days. For exporters booking November cargo out of China to Bangladesh, Israel, the Middle East and Africa, the coming days decide the cost base of every shipment that rolls into the new month.
| Benchmark | Latest reading | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drewry WCI composite, 22 Oct | USD 4,585 per 40ft | +2 percent, 15 week high | Drewry |
| Shanghai to Rotterdam, 22 Oct | USD 3,632 per 40ft | +3 percent | Drewry |
| Shanghai to Genoa, 22 Oct | USD 4,152 per 40ft | +5 percent | Drewry |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles, 22 Oct | USD 8,007 per 40ft | +2 percent | Drewry |
| Shanghai to New York, 22 Oct | USD 10,166 per 40ft | +1 percent | Drewry |
| Rotterdam to New York, 22 Oct | USD 3,181 per 40ft | +3 percent, +85 percent year on year | Drewry |
| SCFI composite, 16 Oct | 3,679.58 points | +15.47 points week on week | Shanghai Shipping Exchange |
| CCFI composite, 16 Oct | 1,922.64 points | +0.5 percent | Shanghai Shipping Exchange |
Two details inside the China Containerized Freight Index deserve attention for our lanes. The South Africa sub index rose 5.1 percent and the Southeast Asia sub index rose 6.6 percent in the latest reading, the strongest moves of any direction, while the Mediterranean sub index slipped 0.8 percent. Exporters covering Africa are already paying more at origin, and transshipment hubs in Southeast Asia are both slower and more expensive than a month ago.
Entering the November window, leading carriers have published new FAK levels and surcharges covering Far East and China exports, and the effective date is uniform: 1 November 2026.
| Carrier | Scope | Increase | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMA CGM | Asia to West Mediterranean, Adriatic, East Mediterranean, Black Sea | +USD 300 per 20ft and per 40ft | 1 to 14 November |
| CMA CGM | Asia to North Africa | +USD 100 per 20ft, +USD 200 per 40ft | 1 to 14 November |
| MSC | Far East to West Mediterranean and Adriatic | +USD 500 per 40ft | 1 to 14 November or until further notice |
| MSC | Far East to East Mediterranean and Black Sea | +USD 300 per 40ft | 1 to 14 November or until further notice |
| MSC | Far East to Algeria, Libya, Casablanca and Tunis | +USD 500 per 40ft | 1 to 14 November or until further notice |
| MSC | Far East to North Europe | unchanged | 1 to 14 November |
| Maersk | Asia to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands | peak season surcharge +USD 500 per 20ft, +USD 1,000 per 40ft | from 1 November |
| Maersk | Asia to New Zealand, Fiji and Pacific islands | peak season surcharge +USD 300 per 20ft, +USD 600 per 40ft | from 1 November |
The CMA CGM filing covers dry, reefer, special and paid empty equipment, and the quoted levels include base ocean freight, bunker related surcharges, ETS and low sulphur surcharges. The Maersk peak season surcharge applies only to non SPOT bookings, so shippers with SPOT allocations are insulated for now.
As reference levels reported by The Loadstar, MSC files FAK from 1 November at USD 4,500 per 40ft to North Europe, USD 5,000 to the West Mediterranean and USD 5,100 to the East Mediterranean, while CMA CGM aims at USD 4,900 to the West Mediterranean and USD 5,200 to the East Mediterranean. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index last assessed Shanghai to North Europe at USD 3,547 per 40ft and Shanghai to the Mediterranean at USD 4,097, which means the new FAK floors sit well above current spot assessments.
Whether these increases stick is another matter. Linerlytica predicts the November pricing round will likely fail, noting that the MSC level to North Europe only matches the mid October introduction, and European forwarders reported receiving discounted offers below FAK through the first half of October. Xeneta chief analyst Peter Sand has been blunt about the structural threat: the faster than expected return to Suez is the biggest risk to carrier efforts to support rates. With Maersk and Hapag Lloyd already moving the AE12 back through the Suez Canal from 27 October and Alphaliner counting 63 percent of Far East to Europe capacity on Red Sea routings, effective capacity is heading up exactly as carriers try to push tariffs up.
The landside crisis at Chattogram that dominated the middle of October has eased, but the sequence is a lesson in how quickly destination costs can change.
The institutional backdrop matters too. The Daily Star reports that DP World secured management of New Mooring, the largest container terminal, this month, adding to Red Sea Gateway Terminal at Patenga since 2023 and APM Terminals at the Laldia development since 2025, while the shipping ministry pushes to appoint Red Sea Gateway at the Chittagong Container Terminal as well. Foreign operators now run or are slated to run all four container terminals, a structural change that should improve berth productivity over time but leaves the landside fee dispute, the source of this month of disruption, entirely unresolved.
For China to Bangladesh shippers the practical message is simple: expect a backlog clearance period at Chattogram through early November, reconfirm last mile delivery dates with consignees, and budget for the tariff environment, because the 41 percent average increase in port service charges remains in force even while the gate fee itself is suspended.
The pattern into November is a market trying to lift a floor while capacity quietly returns beneath it. Carriers have the filings, the blank sailings and the surcharges; shippers have the Suez reopening, discounted offers still circulating and a Chattogram gateway back in motion. The side that plans early captures the gap between the two.
Spider Logistics tracks these lanes daily from Shenzhen with door to door sea and air services, customs clearance and destination support into Bangladesh, Israel, the Middle East and Africa. Contact our team for a binding November quotation before the FAK reset takes effect.