Global container market carries first-half momentum into Q3
- Global container volumes reached 115.8m teu through July, with consumer demand showing little sign of being dented by higher oil prices, tariffs or geopolitical tensions
- More than 4m teu of vessel capacity remains tied up in congestion, while Panama Canal restrictions and network disruption have helped push freight rates sharply higher across key east-west trades
- Transpacific rates have surged to multi-year highs despite only modest volume growth, supporting recent analysis that carrier pricing power is being driven more by constrained supply than exceptional cargo demand
Global container traffic rose 5.1% in the first seven months of 2026 despite the Middle East Gulf disruption cutting off a significant portion of MEG trade flows trade flows, while congestion, Panama Canal constraints and disciplined capacity deployment continue to support freight rates
