Summary
The June 13 brief is built mainly on public updates from June 12. Drewry showed East-West container rates moving higher, with a low blank-sailing ratio but disruption concentrated on the transpacific and Asia-Europe/Mediterranean trades; The Loadstar reported that airfreight capacity is recovering but prices remain elevated because of fuel, regional disruption and AI-related demand. Maersk's Latin America update highlighted a more complex second-half peak season, while inland fuel and intermodal charges in Europe and Turkey are being repriced. Port and intermodal updates from Bangkok and Al Dhaid show regional nodes adding facilities closer to ports, roads and rail to reduce congestion and improve distribution.
Key Updates
Select a headline to expand the full update.
Drewry's latest World Container Index showed the composite index rising 3% week on week to USD 3,549 per 40-foot container on 11 June. Shanghai-New York and Shanghai-Los Angeles continued to rise on the transpacific, while Shanghai-Rotterdam and Shanghai-Genoa also increased on Asia-Europe. Drewry pointed to frontloaded bookings, potential US tariff changes, fuel adjustment timing and peak-season surcharges as support for rates. Exporters should therefore price the whole surcharge stack, including PSS, FAK levels, bunker adjustments, PCD and space validity, rather than treating the base ocean rate as the only decision point.
Source: World Container Index - 11 JunDrewry's 12 June Cancelled Sailings Tracker said 34 blank sailings are expected across major East-West trades from week 25 to week 29, implying about 95% of scheduled services should still sail. Disruptions are concentrated on transpacific eastbound lanes, followed by Asia-Europe/Mediterranean, while transatlantic disruption is lower. The message for shippers is not a broad suspension of sailings, but tight effective capacity in specific lanes under higher prices, seasonal demand and geopolitical uncertainty. Booking plans should therefore focus on lane-level alternatives, cutoff windows and realistic fallback sailings.
Source: Cancelled Sailings Tracker - 12 JunThe Loadstar reported on 12 June that freighter capacity is recovering, yet airfreight prices remain far above historic norms. The article cited TAC Index and WorldACD data showing rates still materially above last year, with Asia-Pacific to Europe and the US holding high. Drivers include incomplete Middle East capacity recovery, elevated fuel costs and strong semiconductor and AI-infrastructure demand. For high-value electronics, servers, semiconductor equipment and urgent orders, shippers should separate the question of capacity recovery from the question of price normalization.
Source: Air freight rates stay high, despite recovering capacity and easing fuel costsMaersk's 12 June Latin America market update described the second half as a convergence of inventory positioning, ecommerce promotions, holiday demand, Asia shipment timing and regional weather risk rather than a single linear peak. The update highlighted Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico hurricane season, heavy rainfall in parts of Central and South America, inland transport and last-mile pressure as sources of variability. Exporters into Latin America should secure space, destination warehousing, customs support, inland delivery and backup routings before the peak, rather than relying on last-minute expedites.
Source: Maersk Latin America Market Update – June, 2026Maersk issued several fuel and intermodal fee updates on 12 June. Spain's fuel surcharge will be reviewed weekly, with 13% for truck and 3.25% for rail combined services from 15 to 21 June; Portugal and Cyprus also received temporary fuel-surcharge updates, and Turkey will introduce a 15% Intermodal Fuel Fee from July. For Europe and East Mediterranean door-to-door quotes, these costs can change the landed economics of trucking, rail combinations and inland delivery. Procurement teams should show inland fuel and energy charges as separate adjustable items.
Source: Fuel Surcharge update in SpainContainer News reported on 12 June that the Port Authority of Thailand opened a new cargo-handling facility at Bangkok Port, covering around 22,000 square metres across Warehouses 8 and 9. Cargo arriving by barge or coastal routes can move directly to the facility for inspection, sorting, storage and distribution, with direct access to main container yards and road exits. For Southeast Asia distribution, LCL imports, feeder services and truck connections, this kind of port-side facility can shorten pickup and deconsolidation time.
Source: Bangkok Port opens new cargo facility to improve efficiencyContainer News reported on 12 June that Gulftainer plans to develop the Al Dhaid Multi-Modal Trade Corridor. Gulftainer's own 10 June statement described the project as a 150-hectare logistics hub with planned annual capacity of 1.5 million TEU, around 50 km from Khorfakkan Port and designed to extend port capacity while supporting regional multimodal flows. If delivered as planned, the hub would give Middle East and Gulf shippers more options for off-port buffering, clearance, distribution and road/rail connections.
Source: Gulftainer unveils Al Dhaid multi-modal trade corridorDH Logistics View
- Today's main theme is repricing across both cost and execution. Rising ocean indices, more PSS/FAK notices and weekly inland fuel reviews mean customer quotes need to move from a single freight number to a full-chain cost table.
- Airfreight has moved from acute tightness into a high-level stabilization phase, but high-level stability is not the same as low-price recovery. AI, semiconductor, high-value equipment and Middle East routing constraints can keep key lanes resilient.
- Facility updates in Latin America planning, Bangkok and the UAE are a reminder that peak season happens not only at sea, but also in destination warehouses, inland roads, distribution centres and final-mile networks.
- For Chinese exporters, bookings from late June into July should manage three variables together: carrier surcharges, destination inland costs and whether customers can accept shorter quote validity.
Planning Notes
- Reprice Asia-Europe, Mediterranean and North America orders using the latest WCI, FAK, PSS, PCD and equipment assumptions, with shorter quote validity.
- Ask forwarders to break out base ocean freight, PSS, fuel or energy surcharges, port charges, inland costs and destination-side uncertain charges.
- For transpacific cargo, review blank-sailing distribution and alternative sailings over the next five weeks instead of relying on the average cancellation rate.
- For high-value electronics, semiconductor equipment and server airfreight, secure capacity early and prepare sea-air or split-shipment options.
- For Latin America cargo, confirm destination warehousing, customs brokers, inland delivery, weather backup routings and insurance terms before peak season.
- For Europe and Turkey door-to-door quotes, isolate truck, rail and intermodal fuel or energy charges and reserve weekly adjustment language.
- For Southeast Asia LCL and regional distribution cargo, monitor whether Bangkok Port's new facility improves inspection, sorting and pickup timing.
- For Middle East project and transshipment cargo, track Al Dhaid and similar inland hubs as longer-term options for off-port buffering and multimodal routing.
Sources
View sources (9)
- World Container Index - 11 JunDrewry · 2026-06-11
- Cancelled Sailings Tracker - 12 JunDrewry · 2026-06-12
- Air freight rates stay high, despite recovering capacity and easing fuel costsThe Loadstar · 2026-06-12
- Maersk Latin America Market Update – June, 2026Maersk · 2026-06-12
- Fuel Surcharge update in SpainMaersk · 2026-06-12
- Turkey Intermodal Fuel Fee UpdateMaersk · 2026-06-12
- Bangkok Port opens new cargo facility to improve efficiencyContainer News · 2026-06-12
- Gulftainer unveils Al Dhaid multi-modal trade corridorContainer News · 2026-06-12
- Gulftainer Unveils Al Dhaid Multi-Modal Trade CorridorGulftainer · 2026-06-10