Shipping giants collectively raise prices, making it difficult to find a single cabin on the European route!
Crazy increase! Shipping giants collectively raise prices, making it difficult to find a single cabin on the European route! How can foreign trade professionals break through?
Recently, foreign trade and freight forwarding friends in the European market must have deeply experienced that European shipping has completely entered a double hit mode of "price increase+shortage of cargo space".
Without any buffer period, top shipping companies have implemented consecutive price increase policies, resulting in soaring freight rates, short availability of spot cargo space, difficult booking, high costs, and unstable delivery times, which have become the norm for European shipments in recent times. Many foreign trade bosses exclaimed that the peak season has not really arrived yet, and logistics costs cannot bear it for now!
European freight rates continue to soar, leading shipping companies collectively raise prices
Global shipping giants CMA CGM and Hapag Lloyd have successively released their latest tariff adjustment announcements, announcing an increase in FAK rates for routes from the Far East to Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa starting from June 1, 2026, with a maximum increase of $1200. The rate standards for various types of containers on each route are as follows:
Dafei Shipping: Asia to Northern Europe route
Effective time: June 1-14, 2026
Scope of application: From all Asian ports (including Japan, Southeast Asia, and Bangladesh) to all Nordic ports (including all routes from the UK and Portugal to Finland/Estonia)
Applicable goods: dry containers OOG、 Paid empty and refrigerated containers
Latest rates: 20'GP/2900 USD, 40'GP/40'HC/40'REEFER are both 4700 USD
Hapag Lloyd: Price increase across the Far East to Europe, effective from June 1st
Effective date: June 1, 2026 (departure date)
Scope of application: All major ports in the Far East to the Nordic, Mediterranean, and Black Sea regions
Applicable goods: 20 foot, 40 foot dry cargo containers and refrigerated containers (including high containers)
MSC has released a new FAK fare announcement for the Far East Europe/Mediterranean/Black Sea route.
Effective period: June 1st to June 14th
What troubles foreign traders more than price increases is the lack of available booking space.
The current European shipping space is extremely tight, with popular routes and key ports selling out two weeks in advance, turning the market into a "seller's market". Many freight forwarders and foreign trade enterprises have given feedback that even if they accept high prices, they may not be able to obtain stable cabin space. Temporary container dumping, delayed departure, and port congestion occur frequently, resulting in many orders being delayed in delivery and missing customer schedules.