Daily International Freight News Brief: Hormuz Risk, Ocean Rates, Port Congestion, Air-Cargo Costs and Customs Rules

NNR Global Logistics' June 5 port-congestion outlook said global ocean freight remains affected by rising cargo volumes, geopolitical tension, carrier capacity management, and equipment shortages. The report said Shanghai averaged 2-3 days of delay in May and may reach 4-5 days in June; Nhava Sheva averaged 7-8 days of vessel waiting; Taipei and Keelung saw 3-7 days of waiting amid frontloading and tight space; and Port Klang remained critically constrained on Middle East, India, and Indian subcontinent lanes. In Europe, Hamburg's Köhlbrand Bridge bottleneck and suspended rail access to Altenwerder continue to affect hinterland moves. Shippers should build port waiting time, truck or barge appointments, empty-equipment availability, and alternative load ports into delivery promises instead of relying only on main-vessel ETD.

IATA's June 6 estimates said global Sustainable Aviation Fuel production is expected to reach about 2.4 million tonnes in 2026, equal to only 0.8% of aviation fuel use, while costing airlines about $4.3 billion. IATA called for more renewable energy supply, open fuel infrastructure access, better sequencing of policy incentives, and a global SAF market. Although the release addresses the whole aviation industry, the freight impact is direct: fuel, carbon, sustainable-service options, and book-and-claim mechanisms will increasingly appear in airfreight contract negotiations. High-value and time-sensitive shippers should compare more than the base per-kilogram rate.

IATA announced on June 5 that it is expanding cargo services in Brazil, Mexico, and Paraguay, including the Cargo Accounts Settlement Systems. The release said cargo tonne kilometers for carriers based in Latin America grew an average 3.3% year over year in the 10 years to April 2026, for cumulative growth of 38.8%. Mexico Domestic CASS began operations in April 2026 and Mexico will become the second country after the U.S. to roll out IATA FlexiPay; Paraguay CASS Export is planned for Q4 2026, while Brazil CASS Domestic is planned for early 2027. For air cargo moving to or through Latin America, broader settlement infrastructure can reduce payment, reconciliation, and agent-coordination friction, but shippers still need to verify operating carrier, airport cutoffs, customs documents, and payment paths shipment by shipment.

The U.S. issued the Strengthening Customs Enforcement executive order on June 3, and firms including Covington published updated analysis on June 5 warning that the order could materially affect importers of record, especially foreign IORs. The order directs DHS and CBP to advance reforms over 90- to 180-day windows covering importer eligibility, bonding, additional identity and supply-chain data, risk tiers, broker due diligence, low-value shipments, and penalties. For Chinese exporters and cross-border e-commerce sellers, the short-term entry process may not change immediately, but U.S. buyers, overseas warehouses, nonresident importers, and customs brokers are likely to require stronger documentation on authorization, payment, origin, valuation, AD/CVD, forced labor, and product compliance.

FreightWaves reported on June 4, citing Association of American Railroads data, that U.S. rail traffic increased 7.2% year over year to 492,795 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending May 30. Intermodal containers and trailers rose 10% year over year to 264,449 units. The report also said North American intermodal volume across nine U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads increased 7.2%, while total carload and intermodal traffic rose 4.9%. The trend suggests some inland freight is reevaluating rail intermodal as truck markets tighten and fuel or road costs rise. For imports moving inland after arrival at U.S., Canadian, or Mexican ports, intermodal may improve long-haul cost, but ramp capacity, rail cutoffs, final-mile trucking, and inventory tolerance still need to be checked.