Rate Hike Wave Hits: May Ocean Freight Rates Surge Up to $7,200
The latest news on May 12th is that the global shipping market has ushered in the first round of collective price increases in May. All leading shipping companies such as CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, and Maersk have issued price adjustment announcements. Starting from May 15th, comprehensive rates and various surcharges will be significantly increased for major global routes such as Europe, the United States, South America, and the Middle East. Among them, Hapag-Lloyd’s 40-foot high container quotation on the Far East to Eastern Mediterranean route has reached US,200, a new high this year.
Europe-Europe route: the largest increase, Hapag-Lloyd high counters broke ,200
1. CMA CGM: From May 15, FAK rates will be raised from Asia to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. A 20-foot dry container will cost US,000, a 40-foot dry container will cost US,500-5,000, and a 40-foot high container will cost US,200.
2. Hapag-Lloyd: From May 15, FAK rates will be raised from the Far East to Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Among them, the quotation for 40-foot high containers in the Eastern Mediterranean has reached US,200, setting a record since 2026.
3. MSC: Maintain the quotation target of approximately US,400/40GP for the Asia-Europe route, and at the same time increase the emergency fuel surcharge for the Asia-U.S. and Canada route starting from May 1.
4. COSCO Shipping: From May 15, a peak season surcharge of US0/FEU will be imposed on routes from Asia to Europe.
North American routes: long-term agreement negotiations drive spot price to rise
1. Yang Ming Shipping: On May 15, the comprehensive rate surcharge for the North American line was officially raised. The 20-foot container increased by US,800, and the 40-foot container increased by US,000.
2. Wanhai Shipping: This week, the spot price of the US line rose again by 200-300 US dollars/40GP, showing a "falling behind to make up for the increase" trend.
3. Evergreen Shipping: Following the market rise by adding GRI and PSS, it is expected that the North American line will usher in a second wave of significant increases in mid-May.
4.ONE: Together with Wanhai, HMM, and Yang Ming, they will launch an additional direct flight from China to the West Coast on May 20, using high-time-efficiency services to lock in high freight rates.
Routes to South America and emerging markets: intensive increases in surcharges
1. Maersk: The latest announcement on May 6 is to adjust the peak season surcharges from the Far East to the east coast of South America, and also update multiple heavy cargo and fuel surcharges in Northern Europe, Mexico and other places.
2. PIL: Fine-tuning fuel surcharges for core routes in Africa, South America and South Asia. Due to the increase in detour costs caused by the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, the surcharge standards for relevant routes will be raised.
3. Wanhai Shipping: Affected by the increase in oil prices, the third wave of Asian line price adjustments since April will be implemented on May 1, with increases of US0/20GP and US0/40GP.
Mediterranean and Red Sea routes: Emission surcharge officially launched
2. Due to the continued turmoil in the Red Sea situation, all shipping companies have maintained the existing deviation surcharges and war risk surcharges, with no signs of reduction in the short term.
Release three major industry signals
The traditional peak season has arrived ahead of schedule, and the rebound in cargo volume supports the increase in freight rates.
In previous years, the peak shipping season usually started in mid-to-late June, but in early May this year, there was a collective price increase across all routes, indicating that market volume has begun to rebound rapidly. As European and American retailers stock up in advance for summer promotions and the Christmas season, as well as the gradual recovery of China's foreign trade orders, the cargo volume of major global routes will continue to grow in the next 2-3 months, providing solid support for rising freight rates.
Shipping companies’ willingness to raise prices is unprecedentedly strong, and their capacity control strategy has achieved remarkable results
After the downturn in freight rates in the first half of the year, leading shipping companies have successfully reversed the market supply and demand relationship by intensively arranging empty sailings and reducing shipping capacity. This collective price increase is the result of the unified actions of the shipping companies, which shows that under the oligopoly structure of the industry, the pricing power and market control of shipping companies have been further enhanced. In the future, shipping companies will continue to adjust shipping capacity to keep freight rates at high levels.
Multiple costs are superimposed, and shipping costs have entered a long-term rising channel.
In addition to the relationship between supply and demand, multiple factors such as rising fuel prices, the implementation of new regulations in the Mediterranean Emission Control Area, and increased deviation costs caused by geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have also contributed to the rise in shipping costs. These cost factors are long-term and rigid, which means that global shipping costs have bid farewell to the low-price era before the epidemic and entered a long-term rising channel.
This collective price increase for shipping in May is just the beginning. With the arrival of the traditional peak season, there is room for further increases in freight prices in the future. Foreign trade companies must seize the last window period and prepare in advance to minimize the impact of rising costs. Xiaofan Online will continue to keep a close eye on the price increases, space availability and freight trends of major shipping companies, and bring you the most accurate information and the most practical solutions as soon as possible.