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
- SA reefer season: citrus sea-freight export bookings ex-South Africa remain priority over other cargo types; DGR bookings may be rolled or held.
- Middle East / Gulf: regional disruption remains severe;
- Rates and capacity: global container rates are rising as peak season, Middle East disruption and Asian transshipment congestion tighten capacity.
South Africa
Air Freight:
Air freight rates remain elevated, with fuel surcharges up across Middle East-affected lanes.
Long-haul capacity remains constrained, and both SA Airlink, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways are severely backlogged into many destinations.
Local and cross Boarder Road Freight:
All services running smoothly
Sea Freight:
Reefer season, DGR cargo handling, Durban landside congestion and Port Elizabeth wind are the main local watch items.
Durban
- Pier 1: 0-4 days; landside congestion in Bayhead Road and a power outage earlier in the week may have added operational delays Moderate
- Pier 2 (DGT): 0-2 days; uneven waterside performance affecting throughput Moderate
- Point: 0-1 days Stable
Cape Town
- CTCT: 0-3 days; monitor Transnet schedules where berthing windows and prior-port delays differ by service Moderate
- MPT: 0-1 days Stable
Port Elizabeth
- PECT: 0-1 days; strong winds expected Friday 12 June may affect operations Moderate
- NCT: 0-2 days; strong winds expected Friday 12 June may affect operations Moderate
Africa & Indian Ocean Islands
Air Freight:
Air freight rates remain elevated and long-haul capacity remains constrained across Middle East-affected lanes.
Airlines:
- SA Airlink, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways are severely backlogged into many destinations.
Congested destinations: Malawi, Zambia, and St. Helena are currently the most congested destinations.
Sea Freight:
West Africa remains congested, Indian Ocean Islands are vulnerable to weather/equipment issues, and East Africa remains under port and inland pressure.
West Africa
- Namibia — Walvis Bay: 0-2 days; intermittent wind gusts expected Moderate
- Angola — Luanda: 3 days Moderate
- Ghana — Tema: 7 days; berth constraints, crane outages, yard congestion and inland corridor constraints Disrupted
- Ghana — Takoradi: 1 day Stable
- Nigeria — Apapa: 7 days; vessel clearance cycles and road/truck queueing pressure Disrupted
- Nigeria — Tincan: 3 days; empty-container build-up and gate constraints Moderate
- Ivory Coast — Abidjan: 8 days; critical yard utilisation and road congestion Disrupted
Indian Ocean Islands
- Mauritius — Port Louis: 0-2 days; weather, crane outage and feeder instability Moderate
- Reunion: 13 days; high vessel calls and volume surges Critical
- Madagascar — Toamasina: 3 days; erratic feeder services and inland transport pressure Moderate
East Africa
- Mozambique — Beira: 33 days; terminal recovery expected week 32/33 Critical
- Mozambique — Maputo: 1 day; wind gusts and rain Stable
- Kenya — Mombasa: 7 days; congestion, yard pressure, customs delays and corridor disruption Disrupted
- Tanzania — Dar es Salaam: 3 days; volumes diverted from Mombasa and Horn routes Moderate
- Tanzania — Zanzibar: 12 days Critical
Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent
Air Freight:
Capacity is constrained and freight rates remain elevated .
Sea Freight:
The Middle East remains highly volatile, while Indian Sub-Continent gateways continue to face congestion, weather and landside constraints.
Indian Sub-Continent
- India — Nhava Sheva: 0-2 days Moderate
- India — Chennai: 2 days; vessel bunching, yard utilisation and trucking constraints Moderate
- India — Mundra: 3 days; high yard utilisation and off-window vessels Moderate
- Sri Lanka — Colombo: 0-1 days; transshipment volumes and transfer delays Stable
- Pakistan — Karachi: 6 days; reduced direct connectivity and higher supply-chain costs Disrupted
Middle East / Gulf
- UAE — Jebel Ali: 7 days; reduced direct Gulf transits and booking suspensions Disrupted
- UAE — Khor Fakkan: 2 days; rerouting-driven berth pressure Moderate
- UAE — Al Fujairah: 7 days; rerouting-driven berth pressure Disrupted
- UAE — Mina Khalifa: 41 days Critical
- UAE — Abu Dhabi: 6 days Disrupted
- UAE — Dubai: 1 day Stable
- Saudi Arabia — Jeddah: 7 days; alternate hub for Gulf-bound cargo Disrupted
- Saudi Arabia — King Abdullah: 3 days; overflow from Jeddah Moderate
- Saudi Arabia — Dammam: 72 days; limited vessel access and inland-distribution pressure Critical
North America
Air Freight:
Capacity is constrained and freight rates remain elevated .
Sea Freight:
Operations are stable but inland rail, drayage, early peak demand and New York/New Jersey World Cup traffic risk need monitoring.
Canada
- Montreal: 1 day; stable but dependent on inland connectivity Stable
- Vancouver: 2 days; rail dwell and intermodal delays remain main bottleneck Moderate
United States
- New York: 4 days; FIFA World Cup 2026 may create regional transport delays Moderate
- Savannah: 3 days; containers sealed ex Atlanta and loaded via Savannah Moderate
- Los Angeles: 2 days; drayage delays and high yard utilisation Moderate
- Long Beach: 3 days Moderate
Latin America
Air Freight:
Capacity is constrained and freight rates remain elevated .
Sea Freight:
Brazil and Mexico remain operational but constrained by inland bottlenecks, customs and schedule volatility.
Argentina
- Buenos Aires: 5 days; services move via Hamburg Disrupted
Brazil
- Paranagua: 9 days Disrupted
- Santos: 1 day; erratic schedules, road congestion and customs complexity Moderate
Mexico
- Altamira: 2 days Moderate
- Veracruz: 1 day; vessels arriving outside berthing windows Stable
- Manzanillo: 2 days; customs bottlenecks and yard/truck delays Moderate
Europe — NW Continent, UK & Med
Air Freight:
Capacity is constrained and freight rates remain elevated .
Sea Freight:
Europe remains operational but structurally congested, with inland barge/rail pressure and Mediterranean peak-season volumes.
North-West Continent
- Belgium — Antwerp: 2 days; increased quay dwell and schedule unreliability Moderate
- Netherlands — Rotterdam: 1 day; crane outages, yard utilisation and barge delays Stable
- France — Le Havre: 1 day; stable yard utilisation Stable
- Germany — Hamburg: 4 days; high yard density, rail constraints and road congestion Moderate
- Germany — Bremerhaven: 0 days; absorbing diverted volumes Stable
Mediterranean
- Italy — Genoa: 2 days; rail-yard civil works affect rail services Moderate
- Italy — La Spezia: 2 days; inbound delays affect outbound loadings Moderate
- Spain — Barcelona: 2 days; limited capacity buffer Moderate
- Turkey — Istanbul: 2 days Moderate
- Turkey — Izmir: 1 day Stable
United Kingdom
- London Gateway: 1 day; stable yard occupancy with some rail challenges Stable
Asia Pacific (incl. Oceania)
Air Freight:
Capacity is constrained and freight rates remain elevated .
Sea Freight:
Asia-Pacific remains productive but constrained by carrier capacity management, rate increases and transshipment pressure.
China
- Hong Kong: 1 day Stable
- Nansha / Guangzhou: 3 days; strong export volumes and high terminal utilisation Moderate
- Ningbo: 3 days; high yard utilisation Moderate
- Qingdao: 3 days; vessel bunching and pilot disruption due to dense fog Moderate
- Shanghai: 3 days; high export volumes and vessel bunching Moderate
- Shekou / Shenzhen: 2 days Moderate
- Xiamen: 0 days Stable
- Tianjin / Xingang: 2 days; fog and wind disruption Moderate
- Dalian: 0 days Stable
South-East Asia
- Singapore: 2 days; transshipment surge and feeder pressure Moderate
- Bangkok: 2 days Moderate
- Laem Chabang: 1 day Stable
North Asia
- Busan: 2-4 days Moderate
- Kaohsiung: 1 day Stable
- Keelung: 6 days Disrupted
Trade News
Reefer Season & DG Impact
SA citrus exports remain a priority through reefer season. DGR bookings may be rolled or held, and urgent DG shipments should consider airfreight alternatives where timing is critical.
Global Rate Pressure & Peak Season
Container freight rates are rising across major East-West trades as Middle East disruption, peak-season demand, higher fuel costs and Asian transshipment congestion tighten capacity.
Carrier Network Changes
Recent carrier updates include Asia-South Africa rotation changes, Asia-Indian Subcontinent services, Asia-Mediterranean changes and revised North Europe/South America rotations. Confirm routings shipment-by-shipment.
SA Logistics & Security
Recent South African logistics news includes port and rail security concerns, Cape route diversion opportunities, hazardous cargo treaty developments and petroleum reserve planning.
Key Articles This Week
Ocean Trade Summary — Issue 19/2026 (SACO)
Primary weekly sea-freight and port-delay input for this issue.Peak Season and Hormuz Crisis Fuel New Surge in Container Shipping Rates (gCaptain, 5 June 2026)
Rates are rising across major East-West trades as peak season, Middle East disruption and Southeast Asian transshipment congestion tighten capacity.
Carrier services update (23 May – 5 June) (Kuehne+Nagel, 5 June 2026)
Recent service changes affect Asia-South Africa, Asia-Indian Subcontinent, Asia-Mediterranean, Transpacific and other major lanes.
Cape route diversions create new opportunities (Freight News, 10 June 2026)
Cape route diversions remain relevant for South African port positioning and cargo-flow opportunities.
Freight News logistics items (Freight News, 10-12 June 2026)
Fresh South African logistics items include security coordination, Cape route diversions, hazardous cargo treaty timing and petroleum reserve planning.
And that’s it – As always we ready to jump for you!
Best Regards,
Coenie & The Inter-Sped Team
