Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Partners,
Please find below our latest weekly update — 9 October 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 1 at 7-10 days and Pier 2 (DGT) at 10-16 days; equipment failures, yard congestion and carrier omissions continue.
Gulf: Dubai at 34 days and Sharjah at 14 days; inbound Sharjah LCL must clear and be collected at Jebel Ali.
Africa and Canada: Beira at 19 days; Montreal at 10 days, with low water restricting vessel loading capacity.
Asia–South Africa: post-Golden Week congestion, limited vessel capacity and announced second-half October rate increases add booking and schedule risk.
South Africa
Air Freight:
General: Rates remain elevated. Going into peak season sees capacity constraints with higher freight rates. Fuel Surcharge on most airlines have increased.
Ethiopian Airlines faces on-forwarding backlogs on connecting flights from Addis Ababa.
SA Airlink have backlogs into Africa.
For Exports Ex-South Africa British Airways /Turkish Airlines/ Qatar/KLM is upselling rates at time of booking due to capacity.
Backlogs out of the Far East due to typhoons in China persist but are easing.
Sea Freight:
Durban equipment failures and high yard congestion continue to disrupt vessel and truck flows; carrier omissions and transshipment rerouting extend transit times.
KwaZulu-Natal (Durban)
- Pier 1: 7-10 days; crane breakdowns; equipment failures; recovery delays — Disrupted
- Pier 2 (DGT): 10-16 days; severe waterside/landside delays; equipment shortages; high yard congestion — Critical
- Point: 0-1 days — Stable
Western Cape (Cape Town)
- CTCT: 0-2 days; some services face up to 5 days berthing delay — Moderate
- MPT: 0-1 days — Stable
Eastern Cape (Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth)
- PECT: 0-1 days — Stable
- NCT: 2-4 days; reduced productivity — Moderate
Africa & Indian Ocean Islands
Air Freight:
General: Going into peak season sees capacity constraints with higher freight rates
Ethiopian Airlines is sitting with backlogs of 5 to 7 days Ex-Addis Ababa.
SA Airlink faces Congestion into Africa.
Sea Freight:
High yard density, trucking shortages and inland evacuation bottlenecks persist; Beira remains the most delayed gateway, while Mombasa and Abidjan stay under pressure.
West Africa
- Namibia — Walvis Bay: 4 days; intermittent wind gusts — Moderate
- Angola — Luanda: 1 day — Stable
- Ghana — Tema: 6 days; high yard density; trucking shortages; reefer congestion — Disrupted
- Ghana — Takoradi: 2 days — Moderate
- Nigeria — Apapa: 2 days; road congestion constrains evacuation — Moderate
- Nigeria — Tin Can: 3 days — Moderate
- Côte d’Ivoire — Abidjan: 8 days; yard congestion; equipment reliability; truck shortages — Disrupted
Indian Ocean Islands
- Mauritius — Port Louis: 0-2 days; transshipment pressure; winds and swell; peak truck queues — Moderate
- Madagascar — Toamasina / Tamatave: 2 days; RN2 inland truck delays; yard pressure — Moderate
- Réunion — Réunion: 1-2 days — Moderate
East Africa
- Mozambique — Beira: 19 days; terminal recovery delays; wind and rain — Critical
- Mozambique — Maputo: 4 days; wind gusts and rain — Moderate
- Kenya — Mombasa: 6 days; berth/yard pressure; empty-container constraints; Customs delays — Disrupted
- Tanzania — Dar es Salaam: 2 days — Moderate
Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent
Sea Freight:
Gulf security and routing restrictions keep risk elevated; inbound Sharjah LCL cargo must be discharged, Customs-cleared and collected at Jebel Ali until further notice.
Indian Sub-Continent
- India — Nhava Sheva: 2 days; road and gate congestion — Moderate
- India — Chennai: 2 days — Moderate
- India — Mundra: 2 days — Moderate
- Sri Lanka — Colombo: 0-2 days; inter-terminal congestion; yard pressure; feeder shortages — Moderate
- Pakistan — Karachi: 3 days — Moderate
Middle East-Gulf
- UAE — Jebel Ali: 6 days — Disrupted
- UAE — Khor Fakkan: 11 days; high volumes; transshipment demand — Critical
- UAE — Al Fujairah: 6 days — Disrupted
- UAE — Sharjah: 14 days; inbound LCL clearance and pickup at Jebel Ali CFS — Critical
- UAE — Abu Dhabi: 8 days — Disrupted
- UAE — Dubai: 34 days — Critical
- Saudi Arabia — Jeddah: 2 days; vessel omissions; service adjustments — Moderate
- Saudi Arabia — King Abdullah: 6 days — Disrupted
- Saudi Arabia — Dammam: 1 day; schedule volatility; high volumes — Stable
North America
Air Freight:
General: Going into peak season sees capacity constraints with higher freight rates
Sea Freight:
Low water constrains Canadian vessel loading; US inland drayage and chassis remain under pressure, while Durban-linked omissions disrupt South Africa service rotations.
Canada
- Canada — Montreal: 10 days; low water limits vessel loading — Critical
- Canada — Vancouver: 6 days — Disrupted
United States
- USA — New York: 3 days — Moderate
- USA — Savannah: 3 days; drayage and chassis pressure — Moderate
- USA — Los Angeles: 2 days; strong Asian import demand — Moderate
- USA — Long Beach: 6 days; import pressure; gate schedule changes — Disrupted
Latin America
Air Freight:
General: Rates remain elevated. All areas are running with some capacity constraints experienced on some routings. Going into peak season sees capacity constraints with higher freight rates
KLM congested.
Sea Freight:
Inland trucking, Customs bottlenecks and vessel schedule volatility remain the main risks, with Brazilian export demand and Mexican nearshoring adding pressure.
Argentina
- Argentina — Buenos Aires: 5 days; trucking, river transport and Customs constraints — Disrupted
Brazil
- Brazil — Paranaguá: 3 days — Moderate
- Brazil — Santos: 1 day — Stable
Mexico
- Mexico — Altamira: 2 days — Moderate
- Mexico — Veracruz: 1 day — Stable
- Mexico — Manzanillo: 3 days; inland bottlenecks; Customs delays; high import volumes — Moderate
Europe — NW Continent, UK & Med
Air Freight:
General: Going into peak season sees capacity constraints with higher freight rates
Sea Freight:
Low Rhine water levels restrict barge capacity and raise inland costs; vessel bunching and Durban-linked rotation changes continue to affect reliability.
North-West Continent
- Belgium — Antwerp: 2 days; high yard utilisation; inland transport constraints — Moderate
- Netherlands — Rotterdam: 2 days; inland evacuation delays — Moderate
- France — Le Havre: 1 day — Stable
- Germany — Hamburg: 4 days; vessel bunching; inland logistics pressure — Moderate
- Germany — Bremerhaven: 1 day — Stable
United Kingdom
- UK — London Gateway: 1 day — Stable
- UK — Felixstowe: delay figure not supplied; operations generally stable — Stable
- UK — Southampton: delay figure not supplied; operations generally stable — Stable
Mediterranean
- Italy — Genoa: 2 days — Moderate
- Italy — La Spezia: 2 days — Moderate
- Spain — Barcelona: 2 days — Moderate
- Turkey — Istanbul: 3 days — Moderate
- Turkey — Izmir: 3 days — Moderate
Asia Pacific (incl. Oceania)
Air Freight:
General: Going into peak season sees capacity constraints with higher freight rates
Sea Freight:
Post-typhoon congestion and post-Golden Week vessel bunching persist; blank sailings and equipment imbalances increase rollover risk, with Asia–South Africa capacity limited.
China
- China — Hong Kong: 2 days — Moderate
- China — Nansha / Guangzhou: 1 day — Stable
- China — Ningbo: 3 days; high yard density; rollover risk from blank sailings — Moderate
- China — Qingdao: 3 days — Moderate
- China — Shanghai: 4 days; residual typhoon congestion; post-Golden Week vessel bunching — Moderate
- China — Shekou / Shenzhen: 2 days; selected gate-in controls — Moderate
- China — Xiamen: 3 days — Moderate
- China — Tianjin / Xingang: 1 day — Stable
- China — Dalian: 2 days — Moderate
South-East Asia
- Singapore — Singapore: 3 days; elevated vessel queues — Moderate
- Thailand — Bangkok (THBKK): 5 days — Disrupted
- Thailand — Laem Chabang: 2 days — Moderate
North Asia
- Korea — Busan (KRPUS): 2 days — Moderate
- Korea — Busan (KRBNP): 2 days — Moderate
- Taiwan — Kaohsiung: 2 days — Moderate
- Taiwan — Keelung: 0 days — Stable
Trade News
South African road freight costs: October’s fuel increase is squeezing road-haulage margins and adding pressure for transport-rate adjustments. (Transport Torque, 8 October 2026).
October ocean capacity: Golden Week service cuts, India-origin connection risks and canal restrictions complicate available shipping capacity this month. (C.H. Robinson, 1 October 2026).
Durban recovery planning: A ministerial intervention seeks a structured terminal recovery plan covering backlogs, truck bookings, equipment and rail evacuation. (Africa Ports & Ships, 2 October 2026).
Luanda terminal expansion: DP World plans a US$90 million terminal expansion following a concession extension to 2051. (DP World, 6 October 2026).
Key Articles This Week
• Ocean Trade Summary — Issue 34/2026 (SACO, 9 October 2026)
• October fuel hike squeezes road freight margins (Transport Torque, 8 October 2026)
• October freight market outlook (C.H. Robinson, 1 October 2026)
• Durban Gateway Terminal recovery plan sought (Africa Ports & Ships, 2 October 2026)
• Luanda concession extended with new terminal investment (DP World, 6 October 2026)
And that’s it – as always, the Inter-Sped team is ready to jump for you!
Best Regards, Jennifer & The Inter-Sped Team
