Cover Story
for ocean carriers to add capacity to West Coast loops. The spread in container spot rates between East and West coast routings increased from between $ 1,200 and $ 1,900 per FEU in 2025 to between $ 2,400 and $ 2,600 per FEU in 2026, according to an analysis of the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index.
“ Anywhere between 15 and 20 percent of capacity is tied up around the globe.”
percentages in September. Container equipment supply globally is tightening as hundreds of thousands of containers are tied up in the Middle East, with one ocean carrier executive describing some destinations as“ black holes” for equipment.
“ Anywhere between 15 and 20 percent of capacity is tied up around the globe, either because of the congestion in Asia because of the typhoons, reduction of passages in the Panama Canal, and so forth,” Nissim Yochai, president of ZIM USA, said Oct. 15 at the Virginia Maritime Association International Trade Symposium in Norfolk, Virginia.
The physical limitations of insufficient berth capacity
“ Capacity on the US East Coast route is expected to remain tight throughout the fourth quarter,” Taiwan-based Yang Ming Marine Transport said in an Oct. 19 statement.“ Consequently, freight rates on the trade are likely to remain at a relatively high level during Q4.”
After the storm
Record congestion in Shanghai and Ningbo, along with other Asian ports, has helped extend the peak season, delaying shipments and keeping outbound container spot rates elevated. Those ports, along with Kaohsiung, saw vessel wait times begin to improve in mid-October after successive typhoons between July and September caused lengthy port closures and vessel waits of up to two weeks at some terminals.
But it will take time for the system to recover, considering Asia – US ocean vessel schedule reliability, as measured by Xeneta subsidiary eeSea, scraped single-digit
Booming AI demand helps extend import strength
Containerized US imports from Asia of cargoes required for data center construction, in laden TEUs, with year-over-year change
TEUs
100,000 |
30 % |
80,000 |
20 % |
|
100,000
60,000
|
-30
10 %
|
40,000 |
0 % |
20,000 |
-10% |
4,646 |
-27% |
0-20%
L Jan 2024 Jul Jan 2025 Jul Jan 2026 Sep, Jul 2026
TEUs Year-over-year % change
Source: PIERS, S & P Global © 2026 S & P Global
Year-over-year % change
12 Journal of Commerce | November 2, 2026 www. joc. com