Inter-Sped Freight & Logistics Brief - 28 May 2026

Critical Alerts This Week

SA reefer season: Citrus Sea Freight exports bookings Ex-South Africa are Priority over other cargo types. DGR bookings may be rolled or held.
Middle East / Gulf: severe disruption continues; Jebel Ali 37d, Mina Khalifa 31d, Abu Dhabi 16d, Dubai 52d.

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 and Ethiopian Airlines are severely backlogged into many destinations.

Sea Freight: Reefer season is the main SA watch item. Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth are otherwise running with short reported terminal delays.

Durban

Pier 1: 0-1 days; clear weather, all cranes operational Stable
Pier 2 (DGT): 1-3 days; short operational windows affected by crane-removal works on 27-28 May Moderate
Point: 0-1 days Stable

Cape Town

CTCT: 0-1 days; monitor Transnet schedules where vessels are delayed at prior port calls Stable
MPT: 0-1 days Stable

Port Elizabeth

PECT: 1 day Stable
NCT: 1-2 days; tight booking slots for deliveries and collections Moderate

Reefer season is underway. Citrus exports are being prioritised and DG cargo may be subject to roll or hold. Next public holiday: 16 June (Youth Day).

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 and Ethiopian Airlines are severely backlogged into many destinations.
Stabo Airlines into Uganda is not accepting bookings while flights are reserved for humanitarian aid linked to the Ebola outbreak.

Congested destinations: Malawi, Zambia, and St. Helena are currently the most congested destinations.

Sea Freight: West Africa remains congested, East Africa has major hotspots, and Indian Ocean Island operations are stable but exposed to weather and feeder variability.

West Africa

Namibia — Walvis Bay: 0-3 days; intermittent wind gusts Moderate
Angola — Luanda: 2 days Moderate
Ghana — Tema: 6 days; berth constraints, crane outages and yard congestion Disrupted
Ghana — Takoradi: 3 days Moderate
Nigeria — Apapa: 5 days; road congestion and extended clearance cycles on some services Disrupted
Nigeria — Tincan: 5 days; empty-container build-up and intermittent gate closures Disrupted
Ivory Coast — Abidjan: 8 days; high yard utilisation, gate pressure and road congestion Disrupted

Indian Ocean Islands

Mauritius — Port Louis: 1-2 days; weather and increased vessel calls adding pressure Moderate
Reunion: 0 days; steady throughput Stable
Madagascar — Toamasina: 2 days; erratic feeder schedules via Port Louis Moderate

East Africa

Mozambique — Beira: 29 days; recovery expected week 32/33 Critical
Mozambique — Maputo: 0 days; wind gusts and rain expected Stable
Kenya — Mombasa: 6 days; terminal congestion, strike-related road blockades and corridor damage Disrupted
Tanzania — Dar es Salaam: 3 days; infrastructure, power and customs-processing pressure Moderate
Tanzania — Zanzibar: 19 days Critical

Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent

Air Freight: Capacity is constrained and freight rates remain elevated due to the Middle East situation. India-bound air freight rates are also elevated as Middle East rerouting compounds capacity pressure.

Sea Freight: Gulf disruption remains the largest global risk, with severe UAE delays and ongoing rerouting pressure into Indian Sub-Continent hubs.

Indian Sub-Continent

India — Nhava Sheva: 2-3 days; volumes, rerouting and inland bottlenecks Moderate
India — Chennai: 1 day Stable
India — Mundra: 4 days; erratic scheduling and import dwell pressure Moderate
Sri Lanka — Colombo: 2-3 days; transshipment congestion and transfer delays Moderate
Pakistan — Karachi: 4 days; surge volumes and road bottlenecks Disrupted

Middle East / Gulf

UAE — Jebel Ali: 37 days; high congestion and irregular vessel schedules Critical
UAE — Khor Fakkan: 4 days; rerouting-driven berth pressure Disrupted
UAE — Al Fujairah: 4 days; rerouting-driven berth pressure Disrupted
UAE — Mina Khalifa: 31 days Critical
UAE — Abu Dhabi: 16 days Critical
UAE — Dubai: 52 days Critical
Saudi Arabia — Jeddah: 5 days; alternate-route cargo volumes Disrupted
Saudi Arabia — King Abdullah: 9 days; overflow cargo from Jeddah Disrupted
Saudi Arabia — Dammam: 3 days; Gulf disruption and inland-distribution pressure Moderate

UAE-MPCI filing deadline: 30 June 2026. Containerised cargo details must be submitted electronically at least 24 hours before departure from the last foreign departure port outside the UAE.

North America

Air Freight: For imports into South Africa, capacity remains constrained and freight rates are elevated due to the Middle East situation. Capacity constraints continue on export lanes.

Sea Freight: Congestion is moderate, with inland rail, drayage and vessel bunching more visible than sustained berth backlogs.

Canada

Montreal: 3 days; yard utilisation high but stable Moderate
Vancouver: 1 day; rail dwell and intermodal delays Stable

United States

New York: 2 days; erratic schedules and vessel bunching Moderate
Savannah: 2 days; terminal works, rail congestion and drayage constraints Moderate
Los Angeles: 2 days; drayage delays and gate turn-time pressure Moderate
Long Beach: 2 days Moderate

Latin America

Air Freight: For imports into South Africa, capacity remains constrained and freight rates are elevated due to the Middle East situation. Capacity constraints continue on export lanes.

Sea Freight: The region is operational but constrained, with Mexico and Brazil carrying the main pressure points.

Argentina

Buenos Aires: 1 day Stable

Brazil

Paranagua: 1 day Stable
Santos: 1 day; customs inspections, gate pressure and trucking congestion Moderate

Mexico

Altamira: 3 days Moderate
Veracruz: 7 days; weather and missed berthing windows Disrupted
Manzanillo: 3 days; customs bottlenecks and clearance delays Moderate

Brazil import service change scheduled from 1 June, with increased frequency and reduced transit times.

Europe — NW Continent, UK & Med

Sea Freight: Europe is functioning but capacity constrained, with Bremerhaven and Genoa the main current hotspots.

North-West Continent

Belgium — Antwerp: 3 days; high yard utilisation and early cargo-opening pressure Moderate
Netherlands — Rotterdam: 3 days; high yard utilisation, RWG at critical level Moderate
France — Le Havre: 3 days; stable yard utilisation Moderate
Germany — Hamburg: 3 days; high yard utilisation and rail constraints Moderate
Germany — Bremerhaven: 16 days; rail constraints and inland dependency Critical

Mediterranean

Italy — Genoa: 9 days; late inbound vessels affecting outbound loadings Disrupted
Italy — La Spezia: 1 day; late inbound vessels affecting outbound loadings Stable
Spain — Barcelona: 3 days Moderate
Turkey — Istanbul: 2 days Moderate
Turkey — Izmir: 1 day Stable

United Kingdom

London Gateway: 1 day Stable

Asia Pacific (incl. Oceania)

Air Freight: For imports into South Africa, capacity remains constrained and freight rates are elevated due to the Middle East situation. On the South Africa-to-Far East export lane, capacity constraints persist.

Sea Freight: China weather disruption and possible capacity constraints remain the key regional watch items.

China

Hong Kong: 1 day Stable
Nansha / Guangzhou: 1 day; strong exports and high terminal utilisation Stable
Ningbo: 2 days; high yard utilisation Moderate
Qingdao: 1 day; bunching and pilot disruption from dense fog Moderate
Shanghai: 2 days; congestion and fog-related schedule disruption Moderate
Shekou / Shenzhen: 1 day Stable
Xiamen: 0 days Stable
Tianjin / Xingang: 4 days; fog and wind disruption Moderate
Dalian: 1 day Stable

South-East Asia

Singapore: 1 day; stable LCL movement but critical yard utilisation for FCL Moderate
Bangkok: 4 days; truck shortages and yard congestion Moderate
Laem Chabang: 1 day Stable

North Asia

Busan: 1 day Stable
Kaohsiung: 1 day Stable
Keelung: 2 days Moderate

Southern and central China are experiencing heavy rain, flooding and landslides, with transport disruption and road closures. Capacity may be constrained over the next few weeks and unscheduled transshipments may occur.

Trade News

Reefer Season & DG Impact

SA citrus exports are being prioritised across terminals. DG cargo may be rejected, limited, rolled or held during peak reefer periods, so DG bookings should be planned early.

UAE Manifest / MPCI Deadline

UAE-MPCI filing deadline is 30 June 2026. Containerised cargo details must be submitted electronically at least 24 hours before vessel departure from the last foreign departure port outside the UAE. Freight News also flags a UAE shipping-instruction deadline from 15 June.

Hormuz & Gulf Disruption

Gulf port congestion and routing instability remain material. Carriers may remain cautious about regular Gulf calls until safe transit and regional stability are clearer.

Rates & Peak Season

East-west container rates are climbing from elevated fuel-cost baselines, with peak-season demand beginning on Asia-Europe and Transpacific lanes. Refresh June quoting basis where rate validity is tight.

SA Export Resilience

South Africa plans to use trade agreements with China, the United States, Mercosur and the Gulf Cooperation Council to support export growth. No operational lane change was stated in the available article extract.

Key Articles This Week

Ocean Trade Summary (SACO)
Primary weekly port-delay and terminal-status input for this issue.

Strait of Hormuz reopening prospects and freight rate trends (Global Trade Magazine / Freightos)
Carrier caution on Gulf calls, rate pressure and early peak-season indicators.

Deadline looms for UAE manifest rule (Freight News)
UAE documentation timing watch item.

DTIC sets out export resilience agenda (Freight News)
Trade-agreement focus for export growth; no operational lane change stated in available extract.

And that’s it – As always the Inter-Sped team is ready to jump for you!

Best Regards,

Jon-Jon & The Inter-Sped Team

Inter-Sped Freight & Logistics Brief – 28 May 2026