Andre Klynsmith

Shipping and Logistics

Port Congestion Hits a Four-Year High — and the Surcharges Follow

Global container port congestion has climbed to a four-year high, with roughly 3.7 million TEU — about 11% of the world's container fleet — sitting idle waiting for a berth. Carriers have responded the way they always do: with rate increases and peak-season surcharges. Africa now accounts for 9% of that global congestion, and SADC importers will feel the cost in the second half of 2026.

SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS

14 July 2026 • 4 min read

Congestion is no longer a queue problem — it is a pricing event. When 11% of the world's box fleet is stuck at anchor, effective capacity shrinks, and carriers convert that scarcity into surcharges. SADC shippers who budgeted landed costs on early-2026 rates are about to be caught short.

Idle Ships Are the New Capacity Cut

A ship waiting outside a port is a ship not carrying cargo. With close to 3.7 million TEU tied up in congestion — the highest level in four years — the world's container fleet is effectively a tenth smaller than its paper capacity suggests. That is a bigger supply shock than most blank-sailing programmes achieve deliberately.

North Asia carries the largest share of the delay at around 38%, followed by North Europe at 13%. South-east Asia, the Mediterranean and Africa each account for about 9%. Benelux and German ports have been running delays of up to a week. Spot rates have climbed roughly 32% since the start of June on a combination of demand, blank sailings, surcharges and berth queues.

Surcharges Are Doing the Heavy Lifting

Carriers have moved quickly. CMA CGM announced a US$4,000 per FEU peak-season surcharge on transpacific boxes from 10 July, and HMM a US$3,000 per FEU PSS from 15 July. Shanghai–New York spot rates jumped 11% to about US$7,902 per FEU, Shanghai–Los Angeles rose 10% to US$6,349, and Asia–Europe lanes followed, with Shanghai–Genoa near US$6,360.

Southern Africa is not on those headline lanes, but it does not need to be. Rates on secondary trades follow the majors with a lag, because carriers redeploy tonnage to whichever lane pays best. When transpacific and Asia–Europe rates spike, the vessels serving Durban, Walvis Bay, Beira and Maputo become the ones most easily cascaded away.

Where the Cost Actually Lands Inland

For SADC road hauliers, the ocean rate is somebody else's line item — until it isn't. Congestion changes the arrival pattern: vessels bunch, then discharge in a rush. That produces a feast-and-famine cycle at the container terminals, which lands on hauliers as idle trucks one week and impossible collection windows the next. It also inflates demurrage and detention exposure for importers who cannot collect fast enough.

The operators who profit in this environment are the ones with flexible capacity and honest communication: fleets that can surge into a discharge peak, and that tell customers early when a slot will not hold. The operators who lose money are the ones who quoted a fixed monthly rate against a schedule that no longer exists.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com