The MPL Customer Letter - August '26

Market/Trade Information

As part of our commitment to our partners, we share information and try to provide you with some context with periodic reports like the following, with relevant information on the logistics industry.

To keep some overview, we have broken this report down into geographical regions and into bullets.

Although not all trades are in the report, similar trends apply. If you require more detailed info on a specific trade or topic you can always reach out to your usual Manuport contact.

Asia

• The different evolution between Asia-Europe and the Transpacific routes keeps going as rates to Europe have been decreasing slightly versus strong and continuing increased rates to the North- and South American coasts out of Asia. As it seems that on the Far East to Europe trade the apex of the peak season is in the past and on the Transpacific trade the rate increases remain, the question arises: how long will this continue? Carriers are applying the same strategy since COVID by shifting operating capacity to more lucrative trades. This is also seen on the Asia-Europe connection. This gives carriers the possibility to benefit from a ‘hot’ market and it manages capacity on ‘weaker’ trades, affecting the supply and demand to a point where capacity will be more limited and the ‘weaker’ trades will also see increases in terms of price levels.

• Typhoon ‘Saudel’ has passed over China and other Asian countries. This makes the 18^th Typhoon already this year in the area. Obviously these typhoons have a great impact on cargo flows. Floodings, heavy winds and rainfall,… all cripple the supply chain directly. Secondary, but not less impactful, is the damage to infrastructure, closed factories and office buildings and the human toll which many of these storms cost the local population.

Europe/Mediterranean/Black Sea

• Rotterdam faces a strike planned on September 4^th between 11:15 and 19:00. Amsterdam, Vlissingen and Terneuzen will also take part. Simultaneously, the discussions for a new Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) in Germany have not ended, resulting in a 48h work laydown by dockworkers in al German Ports.

• The European continent saw a long drought period leading to low water levels on rivers that serve as major cargo routes. This has resulted in the application of several “congestion surcharges”. The surcharges are not limited to inland waterways. Other transport modes are also facing congestion and increased rates as a result of the sudden high demand and shift of cargo flows.

• The Gemini cooperation (Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd) is returning with their Far East – Mediterranean loop back to the Red Sea routing through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

North and Central America

• A South Korean gas tanker has paid a record amount of USD 5.3 million to the Autoridad del Canal de Panama (ACP) to guarantee a slot to pass the Panama Canal without additional waiting times. To put this in perspective, in normal conditions, shipping lines pay, on average, USD 55.000 per passage to skip the waiting queue. The rise in toll fees is due to the rerouting of many ships to steer clear from the Red Sea routes and the long drought period which has led to low water levels in the lakes of Gatún and Alhajuela. As from beginning of September, the maximum draft will be limited even more to a maximum of 47 feet or 14.48 meters. The number of passages will also be reduced from 36 to 32.

Latin America

• Drought and low water levels are not only affecting Europe. Also the Amazon River is facing operational constraints due to the reduction in water levels during the second half of the year. This is specifically impacting navigation to and from Manaus.

• The Colombian ports on the Pacific Coast were hit by an earthquake on August 10^th. Operations are limited and the yard utilization is critically high in and around Buenaventura. The Atlantic coast ports remain fully operational. Staffing shortages, damaged infrastructure and landslides are causing serious challenges.

General Topic

• Container ship orderbook exceeds40% of current fleet. According to Alphaliner 1,724 new containerships are being built, representing 13.97 million TEU capacity, compared to the current fleet of 34,16 million TEU. Carriers are already tempering expectations from the market as the carriers predict that this extra capacity will be absorbed by the global congestion, longer routings, weather-related delays and other factors in combination with a global demand growth of 3%.

• Klaus-Michael Kühne, honorary chairman and owner of Kuehne+Nagel International AG, passed away at the end of August. Klaus-Michael Kühne joined the family business Kuehne+Nagel in 1958 and became Chairman of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel Speditions-Aktiengesellschaft in 1966. From 1975, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Kuehne+Nagel International AG and from 1992 to 2011 as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Since 2011, he held the position of Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors. Throughout his distinguished career, he played a pioneering role in shaping global trade and made a lasting contribution to modern logistics and the development of today’s global supply chains. The Swiss corporate lawyer Thomas Staehelin is taking over the leadership of the Kühne foundation. The 30% stake in Hapag-Lloyd will not be sold or disinvested at this stage.

• Key meeting to decide ZIM future. Eight Israeli government agencies involved in approving the sale of national shipping line ZIM to a consortium of Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and local asset manager FIMI will give their final verdict on the deal at a meeting on 9 September, according to local business newspaper Calcalist. The same newspaper claims that a majority is expected to reject the transaction. On the side of Hapag-Lloyd the only sounds heard are that they are compliant with all requirements and requests and they are waiting for the go-ahead.