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Global Shipping Market Update 2026: SCFI Rises for 4 Consecutive Weeks, Port Congestion & Container Rollovers Disrupt Global Maritime Supply Chain

1. Overall Market Overview: Volatile 2026 Global Shipping Market Driven by Rate Hikes & Logistics Disruptions

The 2026 global shipping market has fallen into drastic volatility since May. Triggered by geopolitical tensions, widespread container capacity shortages and rebounding cross-border cargo demand, mainstream container freight rates have maintained a continuous upward trend. Key ports across the Middle East and South Asia are trapped in severe congestion, and frequent container rollovers have become a common issue on Asia-US and Asia-Europe trade lanes. These intertwined problems have brought huge operational pressure to the entire global maritime supply chain, making freight cost control and on-time delivery tough tasks for all freight forwarders and cargo owners.

1.1 Continuous Rally of Freight Indices: SCFI Grows for Four Consecutive Weeks

Freight rates on all major global shipping routes have seen broad increases recently. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) has posted gains for four consecutive weeks, which directly reflects the tightening vessel space on Asia-Europe and Transpacific routes.

Released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, the SCFI stood at 2218.15 points as of May 22, rising 3.62% week-on-week. Compared with the lowest point in February 2026, this core freight index has surged by more than 70%, marking a remarkable rebound of ocean freight rates.

Here are the latest rates of mainstream routes:

Shanghai to US West Coast (40ft container): $3,154, up 1.2% week on week
Shanghai to US East Coast (40ft container): $4,313, up 2.1% week on week
Shanghai to North Europe (20ft container): $1,905, up 4.9% week on week
Shanghai to Mediterranean (20ft container): $3,207, up 2.0% week on week

Other authoritative freight indicators also follow the upward trend. As of May 21, the Drewry World Container Index (WCI) increased 6% to $2,712 per FEU. The Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) also recorded differentiated growth: European routes rose 3.6% weekly, US East Coast routes 9.0%, US West Coast routes 7.2%. Notably, India-Pakistan routes jumped sharply by 45.4%, mainly caused by drastic shipping capacity contraction in this region.

Global Shipping Market Update 2026: SCFI Rises for 4 Consecutive Weeks, Port Congestion & Container Rollovers Disrupt Global Maritime Supply Chain 1

1.2 Major Shipping Lines Roll Out Multiple Freight & Surcharge Adjustments

Against the backdrop of rising market rates, top global shipping carriers have issued intensive price adjustment notices in mid-to-late May 2026. Giants including Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM and COSCO have raised base rates and added extra fees for Asia-Europe and US main lanes.

MSC adjusted the bunker surcharge for US routes to $467 per TEU. Starting June 1, 2026, the overall rate will be lifted to $3,800 per FEU.
Hapag-Lloyd plans to increase the FAK rate for Far East to North Europe shipments to $4,300 per FEU.
CMA CGM officially launched a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) of $500 per TEU for cargo traveling from Asia to North Europe.

The successive rate hikes and surcharge implementations from multiple carriers have further pushed up the overall cost of global ocean freight.

2. Port Operation Status: Severe Congestion Troubles Middle East & South Asia Ports

Port congestion has become one of the biggest pain points in the current 2026 global shipping market. Core terminals in the Middle East and South Asia face long-duration delays and high yard density. Ports in Southeast Asia, North America and Europe also suffer from varying operational challenges.

2.1 Middle East Ports: Long Vessel Waiting Time Linked to Strait of Hormuz Situation

According to DHL’s May 2026 Global Maritime Port Update, two flagship ports in the Middle East — Jebel Ali Port of the UAE and King Abdulaziz Port (Dammam Port) of Saudi Arabia — are stuck in severe congestion, with cargo delays exceeding 5 days. Both ports are marked red for operational risks.

The entire Gulf and Indian Ocean shipping regions are suffering from serious disruptions. As the busiest container port in the Middle East, Jebel Ali undertakes massive transshipment cargo for Asia-Middle East-Europe trade. Portcast data shows the average vessel waiting time at Jebel Ali reached 3.5 days from May 10 to 16, rated as high-level congestion.

The root cause can be traced to the tense Strait of Hormuz situation. Navigation across this vital waterway has been restricted since late February 2026. Even with ongoing diplomatic talks, maritime passage remains under strict control. Logistics bottlenecks have spread from sea lanes to onshore port operations, worsening local congestion.

2.2 South Asia Ports: High Yard Density & Cargo Diversion Worsen Disruptions

Based on the latest operational report from Kuehne+Nagel, major ports on India’s west coast are struggling with notable congestion. As of May 26, the 7-day average vessel waiting time at Mundra Port hit 3.83 days, while Nhava Sheva Port recorded around 2.5 days. Both ports are classified as minor to severely disrupted.

Most terminals maintain extremely high container yard density. To ease pressure, several terminals have adopted gate release restrictions to limit incoming container volumes. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Karachi Port has been running at full capacity. Thanks to large-scale cargo diversion, its container throughput hit a new record of 111,300 TEU in April 2026.

A large volume of cargo originally bound for Gulf ports has been rerouted to India and Pakistan for temporary transshipment and storage, which continuously overloads South Asia’s container port network.

2.3 Other Regional Ports: Differentiated Operational Pressures Across Regions

Southeast Asia: Overall port operations stay stable and smooth. Most terminals work normally, except the Philippines’ Manila Port where cargo delays last 2 to 5 days.
North America: Ports in parts of Canada and the US West Coast are plagued by container equipment shortages and growing shipment delays.
Europe: Northern European ports are restricted by insufficient shipping capacity and limited inland transportation capacity. Although yard pressure at Southern European ports is gradually easing, vessel schedules still remain volatile.

3. Shipping Space & Container Equipment: Overbooking & Frequent Container Rollovers on Main Lanes

Insufficient vessel space and tight container equipment have become prevalent across mainstream trade routes. Cargo overbooking and container rollovers happen frequently, posing threats to the timely delivery of global cross-border shipments.

3.1 Extreme Space Shortage on Asia-US & Asia-Europe Routes

Multiple logistics providers and freight forwarders confirm that booking demand for shipments departing from East China to the US and Europe has surged sharply. Cargo slots for June on many routes are nearly fully occupied. Asia-US, Asia-Europe, Middle East, Red Sea, Mediterranean and Southeast Asia routes all face severe shipping capacity shortage, and “no available space” has turned into a daily occurrence.

3.2 Carriers Expand Capacity to Alleviate Tight Space

To cope with peak-season cargo volume and ease the space crisis, major shipping lines have rolled out multiple solutions since May 2026, including launching new routes, upgrading existing services and resuming voided sailings.

Maersk launched the new direct China-India FI2 service, with its maiden voyage departing from Shanghai on June 4.
Ningbo Ocean Shipping opened a dedicated route connecting Ningbo, Nhava Sheva and Mundra to serve the South Asia market.
COSCO added 14 direct liner services linking the Far East and US West Coast.

According to Drewry statistics, there will be 7 void sailings on Transpacific routes and 3 void sailings on Asia-Europe routes in the coming week. It clearly shows carriers are accelerating capacity deployment to adapt to the booming cargo volume.

4. Market Summary & Practical Guidance for Importers and Exporters

From early 2026 to March, international ocean freight stayed at a low level. The rate for a 40ft high cube container was only between $1,400 and $1,500. Starting from April, container freight rates began a sustained upward trend and climbed to around $3,500 per container in May.

The Latin American shipping market also faces challenges. Ports along the Atlantic coast of Latin America see 2 to 5 days of delays, coupled with equipment shortages and inland transport bottlenecks. Among them, Brazil’s Paranaguá Port suffers the most severe operational pressure.

4.1 Core Status of 2026 Global Shipping Market

To sum up, the current global shipping industry is faced with three major challenges: continuously rising ocean freight rates, severe port congestion in the Middle East and South Asia, as well as limited vessel space and frequent container rollovers on US and Europe routes. Logistics enterprises worldwide keep tracking real-time market changes and releasing regular updates for industry players.

4.2 Operational Suggestions for Cargo Owners

For global importers, exporters and cargo owners, it is highly advised to book shipping space well in advance. Please closely monitor the latest SCFI index changes, carrier rate adjustments and peak season surcharge notices. Reasonable planning can effectively avoid container rollovers and unexpected delivery delays, helping you tackle risks brought by the volatile global maritime supply chain and guarantee smooth cargo transportation.

2026 Global Logistics Peak Season Freight Analysis & Shipping Solutions