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$1,345 freight spread after May 1 surcharges split rates

05 May '26

4 min read

$1,345 freight spread after May 1 surcharges split rates

Pic: Generated by ChatGPT

Insights

The May 1 surcharge wave bifurcated container freight.
Trans-Pacific rates surged +** per cent MoM as MSC, CMA CGM and ZIM stacked $****+ in surcharges per FEU; Asia–Europe softened **–** per cent under Cape-routing capacity rotation.
The implied USEC–N Europe spread now sits at $****/FEU, a ** per cent plus premium that inverts lane economics and adds $*.**–$*.** per US-bound garment.

The container freight market entered May with a textbook bifurcation, and the tape now reads as two distinct trades. On the Trans-Pacific eastbound, carriers pushed through the most aggressive surcharge stack of **** to date: MSC’s Asia–US East Coast Emergency Fuel Surcharge climbed from $*** to $***/FEU effective May *; CMA CGM imposed a blanket $*,***/FEU Peak Season Surcharge across the lane; ZIM layered an $***/container New Bunker Factor. On Asia–Europe, the curve is moving the other way, with Far East–North Europe down ** per cent month-on-month and Far East–Mediterranean down ** per cent as carriers rotate capacity to defend volume on Cape-routed strings.