Xeneta: Asia-Europe Freight Rates Rise Despite Red Sea Return
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Consultancy Xeneta reported that spot container freight rates from the Far East to Europe rose during the week ending October 23, 2026, despite the return of carrier services to the Red Sea and Suez Canal route. According to Xeneta data, rates to North Europe increased 6.8% to stand at $3,698 per FEU, while rates to the Mediterranean rose 5.8% to $4,442 per FEU.
A "puzzle" for the market
Peter Sand, Xeneta's Chief Analyst, called the situation a puzzle, since the release of global fleet capacity as services return to the Red Sea should ease pressure on rates, but the opposite is happening. Sand noted that, despite this weekly increase, rates to North Europe remain 33.2% lower than on July 1, and Mediterranean rates are 36.7% lower, although compared with February 28, prior to the Hormuz crisis, they are still 67% and 33% higher respectively.
Demand as the driving force
According to Xeneta, part of the explanation for this behavior lies in strong cargo demand toward Europe, with volumes shipped from the Far East up 12.2% during the first seven months of the year compared with the same period in 2025. Sand argued that disruptions such as the conflict in the Middle East generate volatility and sudden shocks, but that demand is a powerful upward force which, if absent, would trigger a collapse in rates.
Capacity management and partial return to the Red Sea
FreightWaves reported that carriers such as MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd and Cosco/OOCL have already restored part of their services via the Red Sea and Suez, while ONE, HMM and Yang Ming announced they will also resume that route. Seatrade Maritime added that, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants, carriers increased service cancellations from two to eight during the week to support rates through blank sailings, while vessel delays in Shanghai dropped from an average of 97 to 42 hours.
Transpacific stable and plateauing
In contrast to the rise on the Europe trade, rates on the transpacific route remained virtually unchanged, with increases of just 0.2% to both the US West Coast and US East Coast, reaching $8,311 and $11,525 per FEU respectively. Sand noted that this confirms the US trades have hit a ceiling and are expected to weaken for the remainder of 2026, while rates from North Europe to the US East Coast fell 0.2% to $2,963 per FEU.
