CARRIERS appear to be going for broke – though they will tell you they’re just avoiding going broke – in the China-Australia trade where spot rates are at their highest in 2026 and new rate rises and peak season surcharges are queuing up.
The mean SCFI for Shanghai-Sydney has risen by 6% in each of the past two weeks, to hit USD2,974/FEU in Week 23 – which is around USD100 ahead of the previous high point, in week two.
Further rises seem likely, sources say, given four services have blanked early June sailings – CAT, CA2, NEAX/NAX and A3S. Rates ex China shared with DCN range from USD2,900/FEU to 3,400/FEU, depending on individual carriers’ proportion of contracted cargo.
Still no joy for lines in the South East Asia trades, however, with Xeneta again reporting just a 1% variation for week 23, to USD1,686/FEU, this despite the routinely-reported restoration efforts. Although, as one contributor suggested, maybe these RRs have played a role in keeping rates steady rather than falling.
And while the attention is on import trades, some carriers are flagging “high” increases northbound in Q3 – which hardly seems surprising with DCN told of containerised cotton leaving Australia at just USD50 for sea freight.
In recent notifications:
MSC has announced that the formerly advised Peak Season Surcharge to be effective 1 June 2026 has been cancelled and replaced with an updated Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) effective 1 July on all cargo moving from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia to Australia. NB, the previous PSS of USD200/TEU will then by USD700/TEU.
MSC has also announced a RR of USD300 per container, from 15 Junefor all cargo moving from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia to Australia. However, DCN understands this is applicable only until 1 July, suggesting there will be more to come.
COSCO Shipping is also implementing a 15 June RR on top of existing rates, for both North & East Asia and South East Asian trades, of USD300/TEU, 600/FEU.
ANL will be implementing a rate restoration program from 2H June 2026 at USD 200/TEU dry and USD400/FEU dry for all shipments from Asia/Indian Subcontinent/Middle East to New Zealand. This increase will apply on top of current Spot/FAK rates subject to all applicable surcharges valid on time of shipment.
Simultaneously ANL will be implementing a rate restoration program from 15 June at USD300/TEU dry/reefer and USD600/FEU dry/reefer for all shipment from Asia to Australia.
ANL/CMA CGM has also clarified the position regarding the recently announced global change to voyage number formatting.
CMA CGM has communicated a move to a new standardised voyage number format (up to 9 characters), with a global target go live of 1 June 2026. However, we would like to confirm that this change does not apply to Australia or the wider Oceania region.
What this means for Oceania customers
• No change to your existing Local Voyage Reference (LVR)
• No action required from customers
• All documentation, web schedules, and regulatory filings will continue to use the current local voyage number format
Why Oceania is excluded
Australian Border Force’s Integrated Cargo System (ICS) can only accept up to 6 alphanumeric characters. Implementing the global 9 character voyage number would disrupt regulatory filings and linked documents. As a result, Australian authorities have formally advised CMA CGM to defer this change for Australia.
Operational position in Australia
CMA CGM and ANL Australia will continue to:
• Use internal voyage numbers
• Translate these into Local Voyage References (LVR) for customer documents and regulatory purposes
• Maintain existing processes with no customer facing impact
Key takeaway
There is no change to voyage numbering for Oceania.
If you receive queries related to the global communication, please note that it does not apply locally, and your current voyage references remain valid.