International Shipping and Logistics Market Update Week 9/2026 | Phaata

International shipping and logistics market update - Week 9/2026

Table of Contents

1. World Container Index Week 9/2026

2. Asia - North America Ocean Freight Rates

3. Asia - Europe Ocean Freight Rates

4. Northern America - Asia Ocean Freight Rates

5. Northern Europe - Asia Ocean Freight Rates

6. Conclusions and Recommendations by Phaata

1. World Container Index Week 9/2026

Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) for Week 9/2026 (from Feb 23 to Mar 1, 2026) continued to decrease by 1% compared to the previous week, dropping to $1,899/FEU. This marks the seventh consecutive week of decline, albeit at a slower pace.

Drewry's World Container Index Week 9/2026 (Photo: Phaata)

2. Asia-North America Ocean Freight Rates

The post-Lunar New Year Asia - North America West Coast market is recording a stark disparity between the speed of carriers' space supply and the pace of factory volume recovery. This discrepancy is leading to short-term overcapacity, creating favorable conditions for shippers in freight rate negotiations.

Supply and Demand:

Demand Side:

Asian manufacturing facilities have resumed operations, but total export cargo volumes remain low and have not yet returned to pre-Tet levels.

Supply Side: 

Following capacity cuts during the Tet holiday, carriers are beginning to ramp up the number of sailings.

From Week 11 (mid-March), total deployed capacity is expected to exceed 80%, bringing transport capacity back to pre-Lunar New Year marks.

Transport capacity growth outpacing cargo growth will lead to overcapacity in March.

The abundance of space is most evident on services to the U.S. East Coast (USEC).

Rate Developments:

Ocean Freight rates from Asia to the North America West Coast in Week 9/2026 (Feb 23–Mar 1) decreased slightly by 0.32% week-on-week, down to $1,841/FEU, according to Xeneta data.

Under overcapacity conditions, carriers are applying rate adjustment measures in preparation for the upcoming long-term contract signing season:

General Rate Increase (GRI) on March 1: Carriers have announced a GRI effective March 1. Phaata believes that applying a GRI during a low-volume period does not stem from space shortage pressure. The goal of this move is to push spot rates up, narrowing the gap with long-term fixed levels. This is a preparatory step for carriers to establish a higher baseline rate when negotiating long-term contracts in Q2.

Peak Season Surcharge (PSS): Carriers continue to postpone the PSS implementation to the second half of March, with a high likelihood of pushing it to April. Phaata assesses that delaying the PSS confirms the current market lacks significant cargo volume pressure.

Stay tuned to Phaata International Logistics Marketplace for in-depth and fast market updates.

Asia-North America Freight Rates | Week 9/2026 (Photo: Phaata.com)

US Tariff Updates:

The market this week is heavily dominated by legal factors in Washington. The disruption from the partial US government shutdown is less concerning than the impending tariff rulings. If IEEPA tariffs are struck down, a massive stream of duty refunds will be unlocked. Conversely, transport costs risk ballooning due to the Trump administration's proposed new universal fee on foreign vessels.

1. Supreme Court Ruling and the Repeal of IEEPA Tariffs

Feb 20 Ruling: The US Supreme Court officially ruled that the tariffs applied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by the Trump administration are unlawful. This ruling does not alter the tariffs currently collected under Section 301 and Section 232.

Suspension of Collection: Immediately following the ruling, President Trump signed an Executive Order terminating all IEEPA tariffs. The repealed list includes: reciprocal tariffs, the "fentanyl" tariff, the 40% additional tariff on Brazilian goods, the 25% tariff on Indian goods, and orders preparing to apply tariffs on countries trading oil with Iran and Cuba.

Cut-off Time: At exactly 12:00 midnight (ET) on Feb 24, 2026, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officially disabled the IEEPA duty collection system on all entries.

2. The 10% Global Tariff (Section 122) Replacing IEEPA

New Rate: From 12:01 AM (ET) on Feb 24, 2026, CBP began collecting a 10% global tariff under Section 122 on imported goods. This tariff has a set expiration date of July 24, 2026.

Tariff Increase Plan: US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer confirmed the government will issue a text increasing this global tariff to 15% for specific commodity groups in the coming days.

Investigation Expansion: President Trump announced the initiation of new investigations under Section 301 and Section 232 to impose new long-term tariffs on imported goods.

3. Details of 10% Global Tariff Exemptions The following commodity groups are exempt from the new 10% tariff:

By origin/type: Critical minerals, energy products, certain agricultural goods, USMCA-certified goods from Canada/Mexico, and CAFTA-DR compliant goods.

In-transit goods: Cargo loaded onto the final conveyance before 12:01 AM on Feb 24 and completing customs clearance before 12:01 AM on Feb 28.

Section 232 Goods: Items currently paying Section 232 tariffs are exempt from the 10% tariff. Note: Non-metallic materials incorporated within steel, aluminum, iron, and copper products must still pay the 10% rate.

Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ): Goods entering US FTZs from Feb 24 onwards must be admitted under "privileged foreign status".

The 10% global tariff is eligible for the Duty Drawback process.

4. IEEPA Refund Process and De Minimis Regulations

Preparing IEEPA Refund Claims: The Supreme Court has not yet issued an order to refund collected IEEPA duties, and the legal process may take months. Importers need to use customs data review software right now to extract the total IEEPA duties paid, categorized by HS code, and review customs broker filing errors to file a Post Summary Correction (PSC) as soon as CBP issues refund guidelines.

De Minimis Package Taxes: The suspension of the De Minimis exemption continues. From Feb 24, postal entries must pay the 10% global tariff. This is lower than the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs or the flat $80-$200/package fee applied in previous weeks. CBP is maintaining the current customs entry process for this group of goods.

5. Moves by the European Union (EU) and China

EU Suspends Deal: The EU Parliament decided to halt the ratification vote on the trade agreement with the US. Under the old agreement, EU goods faced a minimum 15% tariff. With IEEPA repealed and the 10% global tariff in effect, the total duty (Most Favored Nation - MFN tariff plus 10%) for many EU items now exceeds the 15% threshold.

China Evaluates New Tariffs: China's Ministry of Commerce demanded the US cancel the 10% global tariff and is reviewing its retaliatory tariff list. Prior to Feb 20, Chinese goods faced a 20% IEEPA tariff. Currently, the collection has dropped to the 10% global tariff (applied cumulatively with the active 7-25% Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods).

Stay tuned to articles on the Phaata International Logistics Marketplace for rapid and in-depth market updates.

3. Asia-Europe Ocean Freight Rates

The Asia - North Europe transport market is recording a clear drop in export volumes post-Tet. Despite low cargo volumes, carriers still decided to apply a General Rate Increase (GRI) in early March. Carriers are trying to keep the freight rate floor high through mass blank sailings and routing vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, compounded by container backlogs at North European destination ports.

On supply and demand: 

Demand: Export volumes from Asia dropped sharply as factories in China closed or maintained only skeleton crews after the Lunar New Year.

Supply: Carriers are executing blank sailings in large numbers to prevent excess vessel space. Vessel routing strategies are diverging. Many major carriers (like CMA CGM) decided to divert most Asia-Europe services around the Cape of Good Hope. The extended transit time from this route helps carriers burn off current excess capacity.

On Operations:

Although port arrival volumes have decreased, container clearance speeds at destination ports remain very slow. Yard utilization at major terminals remains at warning levels:

Freight Rate Developments: 

Ocean Freight rates from Asia to Europe in Week 9/2026 continued to slightly decrease by 0.23% week-on-week, down to $2,178/FEU, according to Xeneta data.

Early March GRI Tactic: Major carriers are announcing a General Rate Increase (GRI) for early March. The goal of this move is to push the baseline rate higher to serve as a reference point for Q2 long-term contract negotiations. The localized vessel shortage due to the delayed impact of February's blank sailings will serve as the basis for carriers to collect this surcharge in the short term.

Structural Oversupply Risk: Actual purchasing power of European consumers remains low. Simultaneously, a large number of new ultra-large mega-ships are being deployed on the Asia-Europe route. This factor could lead to long-term transport overcapacity.

Stay tuned to Phaata International Logistics Marketplace for in-depth and fast market updates.

Asia-Europe Freight Rates | Week 9/2026 (Photo: Phaata.com)

4. North America - Asia Ocean Freight Rates

Ocean Freight rates from North America (West Coast) to Asia in Week 9/2026 continued to decrease by 0.65% week-on-week, down to $614/FEU, according to Xeneta data.

North America (West Coast) - Asia freight rates | Week 9/2026 (Photo: Phaata.com)

5. Northern Europe - Asia Ocean Freight Rates

Ocean Freight rates from North Europe to Asia in Week 9/2026 remained unchanged from the previous week, holding steady at $140/FEU, according to Xeneta data.

Container Freight rates from Northern Europe to Asia | Week 9/2026 (Photo: Phaata.com)

6. Conclusion and Recommendations from Phaata

Market realities over the past week confirm four technical factors directly impacting logistics costs and import/export pricing:

Supply-Demand Discrepancy on the Trans-Pacific: Vessel capacity recovery speed (expected to exceed 80% in Week 11) is outpacing actual manufacturing speed in Asia. The U.S. East Coast (USEC) route records the largest space surplus.

Artificial Pricing Tactics: Carriers applying the March 1 GRI surcharge to artificially push up spot rates, creating a favorable baseline for Q2 long-term contract negotiations—a move completely unrelated to space shortage pressures.

US Tariff Structure Upheaval: The Supreme Court's repeal of IEEPA tariffs and the immediate implementation of the 10% global tariff from Feb 24 instantly altered Landed Costs. This event creates a massive duty refund pool that needs to be recovered.

Delivery Delays in Europe: The Cape of Good Hope routing combined with ceiling-level yard densities (90-95%) at key terminals in Rotterdam and Hamburg is increasing dwell times and prolonging container clearance.

Recommendations from Phaata

Based on market data, businesses need to immediately execute the following operations:

1. Freight Negotiation and Transport Contract Operations:

Reject the March 1 GRI: Vessel space is abundant. Businesses should request Forwarders or carriers to maintain old freight rates without adding the GRI for shipments departing in the first half of March.

Use online data for NAC (Named Account Contract) negotiations: Cross-reference spot rates on logistics exchange platforms as evidence of overcapacity. Squeeze the baseline lower when finalizing Q2 transport contracts.

Shift US-bound routing: Prioritize allocating cargo volumes to All-water USEC services instead of West Coast then rail connections (MLB), to capitalize on falling rates due to empty space.

2. Financial and Customs Procedures Operations (US Market):

Prepare IEEPA Refund Claims: Direct the accounting department to request the US Customs Broker to extract the full list of entries that paid IEEPA duties before 12:00 midnight on Feb 24, 2026. Have Post Summary Corrections (PSCs) ready to file as soon as CBP opens the refund portal.

Update Import Costs: Factor the new 10% tariff into product cost spreadsheets. For goods entering Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ), the documentation department must file them under "privileged foreign status" starting Feb 24.

3. Europe Route Operations:

Adjust Lead Time: Add 10 to 14 days to the estimated delivery time on new foreign trade contracts to avoid breaching late delivery penalty clauses due to port congestion.

Review Terminal Discharge: Request Forwarders to carefully check vessel schedules. Minimize bookings on vessels scheduled to discharge at APMT MVII (Rotterdam) or CTH (Hamburg), as operational density there has hit the ceiling.

Stay tuned to articles on Phaata.com or Phaata fanpage for rapid and in-depth market updates.

Find Freight Rates Here
 
Find Logistics Companies Here

See more:

• Red Sea Crisis Returns: Nigerian Shippers Brace for a Wave of Vessel Rerouting and Surging Freight Rates
• Qatar Airways Cargo Suspends All Flights Amidst Doha Airspace Closure
• Regional Conflict Escalates: Major Shipping Lines Pull Out of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz
• COSCO schedules: Vietnam - North America in Mar 2026
• SITC updates Vietnam-Intra Asia sailing schedules in Mar 2026
• Post-Lunar New Year Transpacific Freight Demand Softens Amid Capacity Restructuring
• U.S. Tariff Chaos: What Importers Must Do to Protect Their Interests
• Drewry Report: Intra-Asia Container Index Holds Steady at $555 per FEU
• Etihad Cargo Posts Impressive 2025 Results: Revenue Grows 8%, Solidifying Global Logistics Leadership
• North America West Coast Q4 2025 Throughput: The Aftermath of the 'Front-Loading' Strategy
• Ocean Alliance’s 'Day 10' Network: A Strategic Pivot to Capture the 'China Plus One' Wave
• 2026 Kick-off: Global Schedule Reliability Hits 62.4%; Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk Lead the Rankings
• Luka Koper Achieves Record Container Throughput and Exceptional Growth in 2025
• Tensions Flare at Panama Canal: CK Hutchison Alleges Forced Evictions and Threatens Legal Action
• Trump Raises Global Tariff to 15%: A Fresh Shock for Shipping Markets and Allies
• Panama Formally Revokes CK Hutchison Port Concessions, Clearing Path for Maersk Takeover
• Defying Supreme Court Ruling, President Trump Announces 15% Global Tariff
• International Shipping and Logistics Market Update Week 8/2026 | Phaata
• COSCO Shipping Launches New CPV Service: Slashing Transit Time from Yangpu Port to North America by 10 Days
• SITC Lines Launches VTX8 Express Service: Direct Ho Chi Minh – Moji Connection in Just 8 Days

Source: Phaata -  Vietnam's First International Logistics Marketplace

► Find Better Freight Rates & Logistics Service Providers!