Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Partners
Please find below our latest weekly update.
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 (Now “Durban Gateway Terminal” – DGT): 8-12 days delay — There are severe booking system delays and backlogs continue to affect the movement of containers to and from the terminal.
- Beira, Mozambique: 30 days delay — terminal recovery is not expected before week 40/43.
- Dammam, Saudi Arabia: severe schedule disruptions and high yard occupancy — some delays reported of up to 36 days on affected services.
- Abidjan, Ivory Coast: 11 days delay — severe yard congestion and vessel bunching, with increased risk of cargo rollovers and missed feeder connections.
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.
KLM facing backlogs into Africa & South America.
Local and cross Boarder Road Freight:
All services running smoothly
Sea Freight:
Imports: Limited booking availability at Durban Pier 2 (DGT) in part due to the introduction of the new booking system is causing serious congestion & delays in the collection of import containers.
Exports: High volumes of reefer exports are reducing available vessel space, resulting in export capacity constraints and slower acceptance of both general cargo and dangerous goods shipments.
KwaZulu-Natal (Durban)
- Pier 1: 3-4 days; terminal productivity constraints, possible reroutings Moderate
- Pier 2 (DGT): 8-12 days; booking system delays and backlogs Critical
- Point: 0-1 days; operations on schedule Stable
Western Cape (Cape Town)
- CTCT: 0-6 days; high reefer volumes prioritised over DG/dry Moderate
- MPT: 0-1 days; scheduled maintenance in week 34 Stable
Eastern Cape (Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth)
- PECT: 0-1 days; strong winds expected Saturday the 22nd Stable
- NCT: 0-5 days; scheduled terminal maintenance 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
KLM facing backlogs into Africa & South America.
SA Airlink faces Congestion into Malawi, Zambia and St. Helena, & Tete, Mozambique
SAA have backlogs into Accra and Abidjan and have therefore suspended booking there.
Sea Freight:
West Africa congestion, Beira’s extended terminal recovery timeline and Toamasina inland vulnerability remain key watch items.
West Africa
- Namibia — Walvis Bay: 0-2 days; intermittent wind gusts expected Stable
- Angola — Luanda: 3 days; operations generally on schedule Stable
- Ghana — Tema: 7 days; crane outage, road congestion, elevated import volumes Disrupted
- Ghana — Takoradi: 3 days; operational pressure Moderate
- Nigeria — Apapa: 3 days; increased demurrage and detention exposure Moderate
- Nigeria — Tincan: 6 days; persistent berth congestion, vessel waits of 14-21 days reported Disrupted
- Ivory Coast — Abidjan: 11 days; severe yard congestion and vessel bunching Critical
Indian Ocean Islands
- Mauritius — Port Louis: 0-2 days; vessel omissions and service adjustments Moderate
- Madagascar — Toamasina: 3 days; weather-related road deterioration affecting evacuation Moderate
- Reunion: 2 days; service reliability tied to regional transshipment hub delays Moderate
East Africa
- Mozambique — Beira: 30 days; terminal recovery not expected before week 40/43 Critical
- Mozambique — Maputo: 5 days; intermittent wind and rain Moderate
- Kenya — Mombasa: 3 days; high yard utilisation, customs bottlenecks; delays of 5-9 days reported at peak 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 capacity constraints, Colombo feeder pressure and Gulf security/network disruption remain the main regional risks.
Indian Sub-Continent
- India — Nhava Sheva: 2 days; equipment shortages, truck collection bottlenecks Moderate
- India — Chennai: 2 days; transit time variability, missed transshipment risk Moderate
- India — Mundra: 2 days; container equipment shortages, increased dwell times Moderate
- Sri Lanka — Colombo: 0-2 days; schedule disruption from delayed mother vessels Moderate
- Pakistan — Karachi: 4 days; network and scheduling pressure Moderate
Middle East-Gulf
- UAE — Jebel Ali: 1 days; customs-related clearance delays Stable
- UAE — Khor Fakkan: 6 days; prolonged waiting from carrier re-routing, security compliance Disrupted
- UAE — Al Fujairah: 5 days; prolonged waiting from carrier re-routing, security compliance Disrupted
- UAE — Sharjah: 2 days; vessel bunching, reduced schedule reliability Moderate
- UAE — Abu Dhabi: 4 days; vessel bunching, reduced schedule reliability Moderate
- UAE — Dubai: 0 days; operations normal Stable
- Saudi Arabia — Jeddah: 11 days; increased freight costs and longer transit times Critical
- Saudi Arabia — King Abdullah: 7 days; capacity pressure from network changes Disrupted
- Saudi Arabia — Dammam: 4 days; severe schedule disruptions, high yard occupancy; delays of up to 36 days reported on some services Critical
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: 4 days; inland trucking market tightening Moderate
- Vancouver: 3 days; exposure to transpacific vessel schedule changes Moderate
United States
- New York: 2 days; elevated import volumes, trucking-dependent inland delivery Moderate
- Savannah: 2 days; berth demand remains elevated Moderate
- Los Angeles: 3 days; cargo rollover risk on Asia import services, equipment repositioning Moderate
- Long Beach: 2 days; high terminal utilisation 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 facing backlogs into South America & Africa.
Sea Freight:
Agricultural export demand, Brazil vessel bunching and Colombia post-earthquake infrastructure checks remain the main watch items.
Argentina
- Buenos Aires: 2 days; stable import/export volumes, low congestion Stable
Brazil
- Paranagua: 6 days; above-normal dwell times from elevated agricultural export volumes Moderate
- Santos: 1 days; equipment repositioning challenges, minor schedule slippage Stable
Mexico
- Altamira: 3 days; operational pressure Moderate
- Veracruz: 0 days; operations normal Stable
- Manzanillo: 5 days; elevated yard congestion, nearshoring-driven import volumes Moderate
Colombia
- Buenaventura: operations disrupted following the 10 August earthquake, partially resumed Disrupted
Europe — NW Continent, UK & Med
Air Freight:
Capacity constraints due to the EU summer holidays should increase through the month of August.
Situation in the Middle East continues to put upward pressure on rates.
Sea Freight:
Rhine low water, North European hub congestion and Mediterranean summer operations remain the main European risk factors.
North-West Continent
- Belgium — Antwerp: 4 days; barge delays commonly exceeding 72 hours, inland terminal congestion Disrupted
- Netherlands — Rotterdam: 3 days; heat-related disruptions, Rhine barge congestion, extended dwell times Moderate
- France — Le Havre: 2 days; equipment shortages, reefer container constraints Moderate
- Germany — Hamburg: 2 days; CTA modernisation works, dock strike on 18-19 August Moderate
- Germany — Bremerhaven: 2 days; additional pressure from Hamburg modernisation Moderate
United Kingdom
- London Gateway: 1 days; summer holiday road constraints, driver availability Stable
Mediterranean
- Italy — Genoa: 2 days; transshipment exposure, inland trucking/rail challenges Moderate
- Italy — La Spezia: 2 days; crane maintenance programme through week 33 Moderate
- Spain — Barcelona: 2 days; exposed to broader Mediterranean schedule disruptions Moderate
- Turkey — Istanbul: 4 days; periodic schedule realignments, dense trucking congestion Moderate
- Turkey — Izmir: 2 days; operational pressure Moderate
Asia Pacific (incl. Oceania)
Air Freight:
Rates remain elevated, with mounting pressure due to the situation in the Middle East.
Sea Freight:
Typhoon Dolphin recovery, East China backlogs and Asia-Pacific schedule reliability remain the main watch items.
China
- Shanghai: 8 days; vessel backlogs and accumulated cargo from Typhoon Dolphin recovery Disrupted
- Ningbo: 4 days; recovery work continuing amid Typhoon Dolphin backlog Moderate
- Xiamen: 4 days; spillover congestion from East China recovery Moderate
- Nansha/Guangzhou: 3 days; spillover congestion from East China recovery Moderate
- Qingdao: 3 days; spillover congestion from East China recovery Moderate
- Tianjin/Xingang: 3 days; operational pressure Moderate
- Hong Kong: 2 days; feeder connection pressure Moderate
- Shekou/Shenzhen: 2 days; general stable, some spillover congestion Stable
- Dalian: 1 days; operations normal Stable
South-East Asia
- Singapore: 2 days; delayed vessel arrivals from China, transshipment connection risk Moderate
- Thailand — Bangkok: 3 days; operational pressure Moderate
- Thailand — Laem Chabang: 1 days; operations normal Stable
North Asia
- Korea — Busan (KRPUS): 2 days; carrier network adjustments, increased transshipment cargo Moderate
- Korea — Busan (KRBNP): 5 days; carrier network adjustments, increased transshipment cargo Disrupted
- Taiwan — Kaohsiung: 2 days; operations normal Stable
- Taiwan — Keelung: 2 days; operations normal Stable
Trade News
Transpacific rates: Shanghai-New York spot rates rose 9% to $9,507/40ft and Shanghai-Los Angeles rose 9% to $6,802/40ft as carriers held capacity tight through blank sailings, while Asia-Europe rates eased slightly (Shanghai-Rotterdam -1%, Shanghai-Genoa -2%).
Panama Canal surcharges: Several carriers have announced new Panama Canal surcharges on Asia-US East Coast and Gulf Coast services starting in September.
Strait of Hormuz: The US-Iran memorandum of understanding covering the Strait of Hormuz has expired without a lasting resolution, keeping Middle East transit risk elevated.
German ports: A dock workers’ strike affected German ports and terminals on 18-19 August.
Key Articles This Week
Ocean Trade Summary — Issue 29/2026 (SACO)
Primary weekly sea-freight and port-delay input for this issue.Transpacific Container Rates Surge as Carriers Cut Capacity (gCaptain, 20 August)
Asia-US spot rates rose sharply for a second straight week as carriers tightened capacity through blank sailings.
Port operational updates from around the world (12-18 August 2026) (Kuehne+Nagel)
Weekly vessel waiting-time and port-status update covering Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
Port Congestion Report: 19 August 2026 (Everstream Analytics)
Regional wait-time data covering Beira, Abidjan, Dammam-area routes and Rhine/Danube low-water disruption.
And that’s it – As always the Inter-Sped team is ready to jump for you!
Best Regards
Jason & The Inter-Sped Team
