Zencargo Market Update: 26th January 2026

Ocean

• Carriers have started to decrease 2H Jan rates since last week following an initial extension. The market peak looks to have passed as further price increases for late January failed to materialise.
• Demand has been healthy but is expected to decrease from this week onwards. 
• The space situation remains difficult as CMA is overbooked by 4 weeks and Gemini is full. Overall market utilisation is around 97%.
• Terminal yards are very full, with Rotterdam and Hamburg at 85-100% critical utilisation. A backlog of vessels is expected to persist until week 5, even as European weather conditions improve.
• Schedule reliability has improved to 65.1%, largely driven by the performance of Ocean Alliance and Gemini. 
• So far, very few blank sailings have been announced through to the Chinese New Year.
• CMA CGM is scaling back its reuse of the Suez Canal for Asia-North Europe loops (FAL1, FAL3) and will stick to the Cape of Good Hope routing for now due to security concerns.

Air

Central China (SHA/NGB)

• SHA: Rates are trending up this week, but space is tight due to a blizzard-driven backlog (heaviest pinch after Thursday). Advised to book early, with quotes issued on an individual basis.
• NGB: Europe/DE demand is picking up post-holiday and space is tightening, with rates firmer and increasingly handled case-by-case.

North China (DLC/TSN/TAO/PEK)

• TSN: Market is steady; lower-cost options to London are available with longer transit, but confirmed space needs longer lead times.
• DLC/PEK: Rates have softened slightly week on week; spot works for dense cargo, while volume needs earlier booking and may be split across flights.
• TAO: Europe lanes are warming up; space is generally available to main hubs, but rates have moved higher and remain very flight/date dependent.

South China (CAN/SZX/XMN)

• CAN: Little change so far, but the market may tighten after this week. Pricing and space need checking shipment by shipment.
• SZX: Stable conditions; deferred services remain available, with rates quoted case-by-case.
• XMN: Largely unchanged week on week, though airlines are signalling upward cost pressure, with final levels dependent on live booking.

Ocean

• Carriers quickly withdrew the 2H Jan GRI, with most subsequently extending previous rate levels into the second half of the month. Market levels have continued to drop throughout late January across major service providers.
• Demand has dropped off as CNY approaches, showing no increase in volume despite the proximity to the holiday period.
• Capacity levels remain high at 80-85%, though adjustments are planned to account for the Chinese New Year period. Overall space availability remains good across the trade.
• Port congestion is generally reported as good, despite some slight increases in certain locations. Peak Season Surcharges (PSS) have been postponed until 1st March.
• Schedule reliability for the West Coast showed a slight decrease of 0.4% at the close of December. Performance was mixed, with OA showing improvement while MSC experienced a slight drop in reliability.
• Schedule reliability on Asia-North America West Coast was 66.8% in 2025, outperforming the global average.
• Reports indicate US inventories are not declining despite negative container volume growth; inventories are gradually increasing or stalling rather than being replenished by new container imports.

Air

Central China (SHA/NGB)

• SHA: Overall picture is mixed: some lanes are edging up, but capacity is generally sufficient. Pricing remains sensitive to e-commerce volumes, advisable to quote and book according to need.
• NGB: Quoting remains case-by-case depending on carrier and cargo profile.

North China (DLC/TSN/TAO/PEK)

• TSN: Market is normal and broadly stable; some carriers offer competitive options to the US West Coast, with moderate lead times for space.
• DLC/PEK: Rates have eased materially week on week for many airlines; dense cargo can still access spot rates, but volume may face higher levels and flight splits with longer lead times.
• TAO: Market is steady with space generally available right now, though West/East Coast pricing has firmed; the forward view points to tighter space and sustained higher rates.

South China (CAN/SZX/XMN)

• CAN: Limited movement currently, but potential tightening after this week, so treat as case-by-case for both price and space.
• SZX: Stable, with pricing negotiable according to shipment; East Coast lanes remain the firmer end of the market.
• XMN: Similar to last week, but carriers are indicating cost increases, so final rates depend on actual flight availability at booking.

Ocean

• Carriers report that 2H Jan rates are mostly stable for India to North Europe, although online spot rates have started to increase. In contrast, Bangladesh (BD) continues to see slight increases for 2H Jan.
• Price rises are on the horizon, with GRIs announced for February by carriers like MSC and Hapag-Lloyd, specifically targeting routes from the Indian Subcontinent to Antwerp and Valencia.
• Across the board, space and equipment remain generally OK, though some 20ft equipment deficits have been noted in North India and Kolkata with Premier Alliance (PA).
• no significant reports of port congestion within the Indian Subcontinent at this time.
• Global schedule reliability for the region has increased to 69.3%, representing an 18.8% improvement compared to the same period in 2024, with Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk showing the strongest performance.

Ocean

• Carriers are keeping rates flat on the trade, but they are expected to remain weak through Q1 2026 as capacity continues to exceed demand.
• Demand remains structurally soft, further complicated by significant political uncertainty following the 17th January tariff announcement related to the Greenland dispute. While some threats were paused at Davos, the suspension of the EU-US trade deal ratification has left the market in a state of “managed turbulence”.
• Capacity is at record highs, with tonnage up 64% year-on-year for January, driven largely by MSC. Although 28% of global blank sailings in January are allocated to this trade, space remains readily available across most services.
• Northern European congestion continues to hinder vessel turnaround times and overall network fluidity. Winter weather across Europe has caused further operational delays and led Hapag-Lloyd to implement a temporary winter schedule.
• Schedule reliability has decreased to 61.5%, though performance varies significantly by carrier. ICL remains the most reliable at 100%, while Maersk and MSC follow at 74% reliability.

USA

• LA/LB2 vessels waiting (up by 1), with a 7-day dwell on rail terminals.
• Oakland: 3 vessels waiting (up by 1), with a 6-day rail dwell.
• Seattle/Tacoma: 0 vessels waiting, with a 6-day dwell on rail.
• Vancouver (Canada): 3 vessels waiting (down by 1), with a 6-day dwell on rail.
• NY/NJ: There is 1 vessel waiting (down by 2), with a 4-day dwell on rail.
• Savannah: 5 vessels waiting (down by 2), with a 3-day dwell on rail.

Benelux

Antwerp

• PSA 913: Yard utilisation is elevated at 80%–85%, with reefer utilisation currently sitting at 50%–65%.
• PSA 869: Yard utilisation has increased to 75%–80%, while reefers are seeing high utilisation of 50%–55%.
• AGW: Yard utilisation has increased to 75%–80%, with reefer utilisation reducing to 60%–65% and empties reported at 80% ~ 55%. Cargo opening times are now 6 days prior to vessel ETA.

Rotterdam

• ECT: Yard is critically at high 95%–100% utilisation, with some delays for Feeders & Barges reported.
• RWG: Yard utilisation remained on a critical level of 80%–85%.
• DELTA II: Yard is on a low level of 45%–50% utilisation, with reefers at a level of 30%–35%.
• APMT MVII: Yard is currently at a higher level of 90%–95%.

Europe Public Holidays

We anticipate a shortage of availability and the occurrence of delays around the bank holiday periods. Plan ahead and allow extra time for your products to be delivered.

• 27 January (Tue): Monaco.
• 2 February (Mon): Ireland (Eire), Liechtenstein.

• 5 February (Thu): San Marino.
• 8 February (Sun): Slovenia.
• 10 February (Tue): Malta.
• 11 February (Wed): Holy See (Vatican City).
• 15 February (Sun): Serbia.
• 16–17 February (Mon–Tue): Regional holidays across Andorra, Gibraltar, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Kosovo, Portugal, Serbia, and Liechtenstein.
• 21–22 February (Sat–Sun): Russia.
• 23 February (Mon): Cyprus, Greece, Estonia, Russia, Transdniestria (PMR).
• 24 February (Tue): Estonia.
• 28 February (Sat): Spain (regional observance).

• 1 March (Sun): Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), Switzerland.
• 2 March (Mon): Spain.
• 3 March (Tue): Bulgaria.
• 7 March (Sat): Russia.
• 8 March (Sun): Belarus, Germany, Moldova, Russia, Transdniestria (PMR), Ukraine.
• 9 March (Mon): Russia, Transdniestria (PMR), Ukraine.
• 11 March (Wed): Lithuania.
• 14 March (Sat): Albania, Andorra.
• 15 March (Sun): Hungary.
• 16 March (Mon): Albania.
• 17 March (Tue): Ireland (Eire), UK (United Kingdom).
• 19 March (Thu): Austria, Holy See (Vatican City), Liechtenstein, Malta, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye.
• 20 March (Fri): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), Kosovo, Macedonia, North Cyprus, Spain, Türkiye.
• 21 March (Sat): North Cyprus, Türkiye.
• 22 March (Sun): Albania, North Cyprus, Türkiye.
• 23 March (Mon): Albania.
• 25 March (Wed): Cyprus, Greece, San Marino.
• 31 March (Tue): Malta.

Traffic bans

26.01.2026

• AT | Austria 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• CH | Switzerland 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• LI | Liechtenstein 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00

27.01.2026

• AT | Austria 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• CH | Switzerland 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• LI | Liechtenstein 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00

28.01.2026

• AT | Austria 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• CH | Switzerland 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• LI | Liechtenstein 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00

29.01.2026

• AT | Austria 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• CH | Switzerland 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• LI | Liechtenstein 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00

30.01.2026

• AT | Austria 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• CH | Switzerland 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00
• LI | Liechtenstein 00:00 – 05:00; 22:00 – 24:00