Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Partners,
Please find below our latest weekly update — 28 August 2026.
As always, the team and I are ready to assist with any Freight & Logistics queries you may have.
Critical Alerts This Week
Durban Pier 2/DGT congestion crisis deepens — carriers warning of vessel delays up to 20 days and some sailings delayed as much as 21 days; refer SACO Trade Advisory dated 24 August 2026.
Typhoon Saudel made landfall in Zhejiang, China on 28 August, threatening renewed disruption to Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan as they recover from Typhoon Dolphin.
Dalian (China) reports the region’s longest delay at 17 days, while Madagascar’s Toamasina sits at 16 days amid port congestion and inland constraints.
India-South Africa sea freight capacity remains critical, with carriers advising space is at a premium and rates continuing to escalate.
South Africa
Air Freight:
General: Rates remain elevated with increasing rate pressure being felt due to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Capacity constraints experienced across Middle East affected lanes and some European areas. Capacity constraints continue on export lanes.
European Summer holidays causing space capacity issues out of Europe
Ethiopian Airlines faces on-forwarding backlogs on connecting flights from Addis Ababa.
SA Airlink have backlogs into Africa.
KLM facing backlogs into Africa & South America.
Local and cross Boarder Road Freight:
All services running smoothly
Sea Freight:
Durban Pier 1 and Pier 2/DGT delays remain the dominant local risk this week, with citrus-season reefer volumes adding further pressure at Cape Town.
KwaZulu-Natal (Durban)
- Pier 1: 3-4 days; severe waterside & landside delays; some vessels delayed as much as 21 days Disrupted
- Pier 2 (DGT): 7-10 days; congestion crisis worsening; carriers warn of delays up to 20 days Critical
- Point: 0-1 days; operations stable Stable
Western Cape (Cape Town)
- CTCT: 0-6 days; one crane out of service and under repair Moderate
- MPT: 0-1 days; operations stable Stable
Eastern Cape (Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth)
- PECT: 0-1 days; strong winds forecast 26 & 30 August Stable
- NCT: 0-2 days; scheduled terminal maintenance until 31 August 18:00 Moderate
Africa & Indian Ocean Islands
Air Freight:
General: Rates remain elevated with increasing rate pressure being felt due to the situation in the Middle East. Capacity constraints continue on export lanes.
Ethiopian Airlines is sitting with backlogs of 5 to 7 days Ex-Addis Ababa
SA Airlink faces Congestion into Africa.
SAA have backlogs into Accra and Abidjan and have therefore suspended booking there.
Sea Freight:
West African congestion, Beira/Maputo recovery timelines and Madagascar’s inland constraints remain the main African watch items.
West Africa
- Namibia — Walvis Bay: 0-2 days; intermittent wind gusts expected all week Stable
- Angola — Luanda: 3 days; operations generally on schedule Stable
- Ghana — Tema: 6 days; risk of schedule slippage, specifically on feeder services Moderate
- Ghana — Takoradi: 4 days; severe landside congestion reported during August Moderate
- Nigeria — Apapa: 3 days; vessel waiting times of 14-21 days at anchorage; congestion likely through September Disrupted
- Nigeria — Tincan: 3 days; same regional congestion and truck turnaround issues around Apapa Disrupted
- Ivory Coast — Abidjan: 14 days; yard utilisation near critical at ~93%; erratic schedule reliability Critical
Indian Ocean Islands
- Mauritius — Port Louis: 0-1 days; stable; strong winds expected 26 & 30 August Stable
- Madagascar — Toamasina: 16 days; port congestion and elevated container dwell times; inland infrastructure limits distribution Critical
- Reunion: 1 days; relatively stable operations Stable
East Africa
- Mozambique — Beira: 8 days; terminal recovery expected week 40/43; intermittent wind and rain Disrupted
- Mozambique — Maputo: 6 days; intermittent wind gusts and rain for the rest of the week Moderate
- Kenya — Mombasa: 5 days; elevated vessel waiting times; principal East Africa congestion hotspot Disrupted
- Tanzania — Dar es Salaam: 2 days; rising cargo volumes from diversions; increased customs processing Moderate
Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent
Air Freight:
General: Rates remain elevated, with mounting upward pressure due to situation in the Middle East. Capacity constraints across the region persist, placing additional strain on available airfreight space and supporting higher freight rates.
Further pressure may still emerge if there are more Sea to Air conversions resulting from India, where port congestion and shipment backlogs have been a serious challenge.
Sea Freight:
India-SA capacity remains critical, Colombo transshipment pressure and Gulf security/network disruption remain the main regional risks.
Indian Sub-Continent
- India — Nhava Sheva: 3 days; severe capacity constraints; congestion surcharges, detention risk and equipment shortages Disrupted
- India — Chennai: 2 days; terminal relatively stable; weather is the primary operational factor Moderate
- India — Mundra: 3 days; elevated terminal density; congestion surcharges and equipment shortages Disrupted
- Sri Lanka — Colombo: 0-3 days; high transshipment volumes; high risk of delay from feeder schedule volatility Disrupted
- Pakistan — Karachi: 2 days; increased regional cargo redistribution; vessel bunching risk Moderate
Middle East-Gulf
- UAE — Jebel Ali: 4 days; increased customs compliance & manifest filing extending clearance Moderate
- UAE — Khor Fakkan: 7 days; elevated transshipment pressure on terminal capacity Disrupted
- UAE — Al Fujairah: 9 days; elevated transshipment pressure on terminal capacity Disrupted
- UAE — Sharjah: 2 days; operations stable Stable
- UAE — Abu Dhabi: 2 days; operations stable Stable
- UAE — Dubai: 9 days; elevated transshipment pressure on terminal capacity Disrupted
- Saudi Arabia — Jeddah: 4 days; trucking shortages and customs inspection delays between Jeddah and Riyadh Moderate
- Saudi Arabia — King Abdullah: 3 days; vessel schedule instability and reduced reliability Moderate
- Saudi Arabia — Dammam: 4 days; increased freight costs Moderate
North America
Air Freight:
General: Rates remain elevated, with mounting upward pressure as the situation in the Middle East. All areas are running with some capacity constraints.
Sea Freight:
Vessel bunching, chassis availability and inland rail bottlenecks remain the main North American watch items.
Canada
- Montreal: 1 days; seasonal volume fluctuations influencing terminal productivity Stable
- Vancouver: 3 days; stable operations; high dependency on rail network performance Moderate
United States
- New York: 2 days; truck congestion and warehouse demand affecting inland distribution Moderate
- Savannah: 3 days; berth demand remains elevated Moderate
- Los Angeles: 2 days; inland trucking and chassis availability impacting cargo movement Moderate
- Long Beach: 2 days; high terminal utilisation levels Moderate
Latin America
Air Freight:
General: Rates remain elevated, with mounting upward pressure due to the situation in the Middle East. All areas are running with some capacity constraints experienced on some routings.
KLM congested.
Sea Freight:
Agricultural export demand, Brazil vessel bunching and Colombia’s post-earthquake infrastructure checks are the main Latin American watch items.
Argentina
- Buenos Aires: 2 days; port operations generally stable; extended lead times on documentation complexity Stable
Brazil
- Paranagua: 6 days; high levels of congestion and long vessel queues Disrupted
- Santos: 2 days; high terminal capacity, with longer dwell periods reported Moderate
Mexico
- Altamira: 3 days; part of sustained Pacific-gateway pressure from nearshoring-related imports Moderate
- Veracruz: 0 days; elevated yard congestion and customs clearance delays on high throughput volumes Stable
- Manzanillo: 3 days; trucking congestion and inland distribution are major bottlenecks Moderate
Colombia
- Following the 26 August earthquake, WWA partner Mahe Neutral Shipping is conducting post-event infrastructure checks; no port-delay figures were reported for Colombia this week.
Europe — NW Continent, UK & Med
Air Freight:
Capacity constraints due to the EU summer holidays decreasing as the summer holidays draws to a close.
Situation in the Middle East continues to put upward pressure on rates.
Sea Freight:
Rhine low water, North European yard congestion and Mediterranean schedule volatility remain the main European risk factors.
North-West Continent
- Germany — Hamburg: 4 days; HHLA Altenwerder crane modernization continues through September; rail network balancing Moderate
- Germany — Bremerhaven: 1 days; additional pressure as Hamburg modernization continues Stable
- Belgium — Antwerp: 4 days; high yard utilisation; inland barge congestion affecting evacuation Moderate
- Netherlands — Rotterdam: 2 days; high yard utilisation and vessel bunching; inland barge delays Moderate
- France — Le Havre: 4 days; high yard utilisation; carrier network schedule adjustments Moderate
United Kingdom
- London Gateway: 1 days; relatively stable; carrier schedule adjustments and increased feeder disruptions Stable
Mediterranean
- Italy — Genoa: 2 days; exposed to transshipment and feeder network disruptions Stable
- Italy — La Spezia: 7 days; exposed to transshipment and feeder network disruptions Disrupted
- Spain — Barcelona: 3 days; generally stable, exposed to broader Mediterranean schedule disruptions Moderate
- Turkey — Istanbul: 1 days; localized congestion due to dense trucking environment Stable
- Turkey — Izmir: 1 days; ongoing carrier service adjustments across major Turkish ports Stable
Asia Pacific (incl. Oceania)
Air Freight:
Rates remain elevated, with mounting pressure due to the situation in the Middle East.
With Typhoon Saudel causing disruptions in port and airport operations, capacity issues leading to higher freight rates are expected.
Sea Freight:
Typhoon Saudel’s landfall in Zhejiang threatens renewed disruption to Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan as they recover from Typhoon Dolphin; East China congestion and schedule reliability remain the main watch items.
China
- Hong Kong: 3 days; operations tracking regional norms Stable
- Nansha/Guangzhou: 3 days; significant vessel bunching; elevated yard density and berth waiting times Moderate
- Ningbo: 5 days; landside truck capacity pressured by accumulated cargo volumes Disrupted
- Qingdao: 4 days; typhoon-induced terminal shutdowns; substantial vessel and cargo backlogs Disrupted
- Shanghai: 9 days; high transshipment connection risk; container repositioning challenges Critical
- Shekou/Shenzhen: 2 days; cargo diversions from affected northern gateways creating localised pressure Moderate
- Xiamen: 4 days; carriers implementing port omissions and revised rotations Moderate
- Tianjin/Xingang: 1 days; operations tracking regional norms Stable
- Dalian: 17 days; the region’s longest delay; significant schedule disruption Critical
South-East Asia
- Singapore: 2 days; increased transshipment volumes; extended feeder transit variability Moderate
- Thailand — Bangkok: 1 days; operations tracking regional norms Stable
- Thailand — Laem Chabang: 1 days; operations tracking regional norms Stable
North Asia
- Korea — Busan (KRPUS): 3 days; carrier network adjustments; some vessel bunching Moderate
- Korea — Busan (KRBNP): 3 days; carrier network adjustments; some vessel bunching Moderate
- Taiwan — Kaohsiung: 2 days; operations tracking regional norms Moderate
- Taiwan — Keelung: 1 days; operations tracking regional norms Stable
Trade News
Durban congestion: Linerlytica data shows South Africa now accounts for 9% of global port congestion, with Durban Gateway Terminal waiting times reaching 10 days and Pier 2 materially constrained.
Typhoon Saudel: The storm made landfall on China’s eastern coast on 28 August, disrupting trains and ferries and threatening renewed delays for Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan as they recover from Typhoon Dolphin.
Transpacific rates: Asia-US East Coast freight rates hit a 2026 peak as a resilient container market defies expectations of a late-summer slowdown, while the Drewry World Container Index eased on softer trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe spot rates.
Key Articles This Week
Ocean Trade Summary — Issue 30/2026 (SACO)
Primary weekly sea-freight and port-delay input for this issue.
Durban Congestion Deepens as Carriers Warn of Delays of Up to 20 Days (tzp.news, citing Linerlytica data, 25 August)
South Africa now accounts for 9% of global port congestion, with Durban waiting times among the worst globally.
Typhoon Saudel Makes Landfalls on China’s Eastern Coast, Disrupts Travel (Yahoo, 28 August)
Storm disrupts trains and ferries and threatens renewed delays for Shanghai and Ningbo as East China recovery continues.
Asia-US East Coast Freight Rates Hit 2026 Peak. Can the Rally Continue? (Yahoo Finance, 27 August)
A resilient container market challenges expectations of a late-summer slowdown.
And that’s it – As always the Inter-Sped team is ready to jump for you!
Best Regards,
Coenie & The Inter-Sped Team
