Short answer first. Six developments matter for shipments this week: Maersk temporarily restricted bookings into several Middle East ports, Red Sea transits now cover about 63% of Far East–Europe capacity, global schedule reliability fell to 50.6% in September, the Los Angeles and Long Beach security talks were extended to November 5, Vietnam tightened origin verification, and newbuilding orderbooks hit a 20-year high. Each item below carries its source and date, followed by an action a forwarder can take today.
Middle East: bookings restricted, alternatives needed now
Maersk issued a customer advisory on October 30 adjusting booking acceptance and cargo flows for Khor Fakkan and Fujairah in the UAE and some Upper Gulf destinations. Already-booked cargo will be handled through account managers for re-routing, cargo in transit may be delayed, and new bookings are accepted subject to available space. The advisory does not list every affected destination and gives no end date (source: Yili Shipping, November 2, 2026).
The wording matters. The carrier did not stop accepting bookings; it said space-dependent. With no end date, the measure is being reviewed week by week. Rather than promising customers a recovery date, offer two concrete options, an alternative port or an alternative sailing, and let the customer choose.
Red Sea: 63% of capacity is back, rates still pull both ways
All four major networks now have vessels transiting Suez. Premier Alliance, the slowest mover, published schedules: YM TRUST on the MD1 service loads first in Ningbo on November 10, ONE SYNERGY on MS2 loads first in Qingdao on November 16, and the alliance expects three services back through the Red Sea by year end, roughly 30–40% of its Europe capacity. Alphaliner data shows 24 of 46 Far East–Europe direct services already routing via Suez, about 63% of capacity. Maersk expects a full return before March 2027, while Drewry expects transits at 80% of normal levels by February 2027 (source: JCtrans, November 2, 2026).
Released capacity argues for lower rates; November FAK increases argue the other way. Keep contract and spot discussions separate in this window.
Reliability at 50.6%: build delay buffers into contracts
Sea-Intelligence's 182nd Global Liner Performance report puts September 2026 global schedule reliability at 50.6%, up 0.9 percentage points month on month but down 14.8 points from the May peak of 64.5%. Average delay for late vessels was 6.65 days, the second worst September on record. None of the 13 major carriers improved year on year and 12 posted double-digit declines. Maersk led at 64.8%, Wan Hai trailed at 26.7%, a gap of nearly 40 points. By alliance, MSC standalone stood at 68.9% and Gemini at 68.4%, ahead of Ocean Alliance at 44.8% and Premier Alliance at 41.5% (source: JCtrans, November 1, 2026).
The practical use is contractual. Build delay buffers into estimated arrival times, and treat schedule reliability as a visible criterion when selecting a carrier for time-sensitive cargo.
US West Coast: next deadline is November 5
About 250 port security officers at Los Angeles and Long Beach postponed a strike originally set for November 1. PMA and ILWU Local 26 agreed on October 30 to extend talks to November 5. The group is roughly 2% of the union workforce, but its terminals handle about 85% of Long Beach and 33% of Los Angeles volumes. The previous contract expired in July 2025 and core disagreements remain unresolved. The two ports handled about 2.04 million TEU combined in September, a record for the month, with roughly 35,700 import containers waiting for rail (source: Yili Shipping, November 1, 2026).
For cargo moving through either port, confirm berthing, pick-up and return, and transshipment arrangements now, and build a buffer around November 5.
Cargo loss notices: file early, document thoroughly
Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express issued customer advisories on October 30 stating that, according to vessel owner Seaspan, most cargo on MV ESPIRITO SANTO EXPRESS is expected to be severely damaged or a total loss after a fire on board. The fire is under control, but the vessel must enter a port of refuge and complete damage assessment (source: JCtrans, November 2, 2026).
Cargo interests with insurance should submit bills of lading, container numbers, invoices and packing lists to insurers without delay, and watch general average adjustment and security requirements under LOF salvage.
Capacity and consolidation: orders at a 20-year high
Banchero Costa reports global newbuilding orderbooks at 179.1 million CGT, up 25% year on year and the highest in 20 years. Container, LNG and LPG orderbooks equal 43.5%, 40.9% and 38.5% of the existing fleets respectively. Crude tanker ordering reached 67 million dwt from January to September, up 267.7% year on year, including 172 VLCCs, and Chinese yards hold 75% of bulker and tanker orderbooks (source: CNSS, November 1, 2026).
In the same week, Zhonggu Logistics disclosed RMB 2.73 billion of convertible bonds to fund 18 ships, ten of 1,800 TEU and eight of 6,300 TEU, all for international services, while flagging 7.8% global capacity growth in 2027. Denmark's SGL agreed to acquire OIA Global, which reported about USD 780 million of 2025 revenue, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2027 (source: Yili Shipping, November 1, 2026). COSCO Shipping Ports posted 8.1% throughput growth to 122.4 million TEU for the first nine months, with overseas terminals up 19.4% in the third quarter and Chancay up 24.9% (source: China Shipping Weekly, November 1, 2026).
Compliance: Vietnam closes the container-swap route
Vietnam's customs authority issued document 23535 updating its risk warning list, alongside Ministry of Industry and Trade document 8744, tightening checks on origin fraud, illegal transshipment and circumvention of trade remedies, with focus on wood, steel, chemicals, plastics and textiles. Transit, repacking, labeling or container swapping alone does not confer Vietnamese origin; substantial processing is required. Penalties include cargo detention, back taxes and fines, and company blacklists (source: Cifnews, November 1, 2026).
Shippers using Vietnam for transshipment should assemble raw material and production records, and treat container-swap origin solutions as high risk.
Air freight: direct Ningbo–Mexico City freighter
On October 29 Kangni Airlines launched a Ningbo–Mexico City freighter service, the first round-trip cargo route from Ningbo to Mexico, via Anchorage and Incheon, with roughly 46 hours round trip, up to 110 tonnes per leg, and about 60% of outbound volume being cross-border e-commerce parcels. Ningbo airport customs has supported 11 international cargo routes this year, with 1,583 import and export freighter movements in the first three quarters (source: Global Air Cargo, October 31, 2026).
Three actions for this week
Confirm booking status on every Middle East shipment and require two alternatives. Build buffers around November 5 for US West Coast cargo. And for time-sensitive cargo, use schedule reliability when choosing a carrier, with delay buffers written into arrival terms.
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