July 3, 2026
Rates
Drewry’s index jumps 9% as peak season bites
Drewry’s World Container Index climbed 9% to $4,530 per 40ft container in its July 2 reading, with the consultancy expecting further increases in the coming weeks. For US importers, it caps a run of rapid rate escalation heading into the summer peak. Drewry
Transpacific spot rates spike, with fresh July surcharges landing
Shanghai–Los Angeles rose about 10% to roughly $6,349/FEU and Shanghai–New York about 11% to $7,902/FEU, and carriers are stacking on peak-season surcharges: CMA CGM has announced a $4,000/FEU PSS on all transpacific boxes from July 10, and HMM a $3,000/FEU PSS from July 15. US shippers should expect landed costs to keep rising through July. Freightos
Ports
Global port congestion hits a four-year high
Roughly 3.7m TEU, or about 11% of the global fleet, is now tied up waiting for berths, with North Asian and North European ports worst hit and Rotterdam dwell times near a week. Tight effective capacity is handing carriers leverage for more rate hikes. The Loadstar
US imports climb, but drayage truckers stay squeezed
US container imports rose 11.5% year over year as May volumes gained at Los Angeles and Long Beach, yet port truckers report weak rates, fuel costs and appointment delays, with Newark’s Global Container Terminals averaging about 2.5 hours per gate move. The gap between strong volumes and thin trucking margins remains a pressure point for US supply chains. Transport Topics
Carriers
Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM clear the Strait of Hormuz
The major lines have begun moving vessels out of the Persian Gulf after a security window opened following a US–Iran 60-day ceasefire, with all three confirming successful Hormuz transits and Hapag-Lloyd resuming limited bookings. It is an early step toward normalizing a lane whose closure had stranded ships since February. WorldCargo News
MSC denies it is chasing a Hapag-Lloyd stake
MSC dismissed a Manager Magazin report that it is seeking a stake in Hapag-Lloyd as untrue, tamping down consolidation speculation among the carriers that dominate US trade lanes. Ownership shifts among the top lines would ripple through alliance structures and shipper leverage. IndexBox
Policy
July 24 tariff deadline pushes importers to frontload
The temporary 10% Section 122 import surcharge is set to expire July 24, and goods likely need to arrive before then to avoid potentially higher Section 301 rates, driving a rush of frontloaded cargo. Separately, from July 8 the CPSC will require electronic filing of clearance data for more than 2,400 tariff codes. Both add cost and complexity for US importers this month. Elliott Davis
Bottom line: With ocean rates surging, ports jammed to a four-year high and a July 24 tariff cliff looming, US shippers face rising costs and tightening capacity right through the summer peak.