A regional crisis is making ships costlier to run. The same crisis has handed carriers back the Suez shortcut. Container freight rates now sit between a rising cost floor and returning capacity
Eight carriers have reported. Spot freight rates nearly doubled in six months, and most carriers returned to quarterly profit. Then the market sold the shares of the biggest winners
ZIM lost $86 million. CMA CGM lost three-quarters of its net income. The Q1 2026 container shipping season has closed, and the two final reports confirm Part I’s diagnosis
Shipping companies, insurers and energy traders are already changing operational behaviour as Middle East tensions disrupt routes, tighten insurance conditions and increase costs across the global maritime system, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea
The Q1 2026 container shipping season produced one verdict. Volumes returned. Pricing power did not. The Strait of Hormuz has been quietly turned into a line item
From January 11–17, 2026, the global shipping market priced in fragile calm while bracing for conflict, as Maersk returned to the Red Sea amid rising geopolitical risk and swelling orderbooks
The week before Christmas offered few miracles but plenty of action. Container rates continued their inexplicable climb, the Houthis remained a stubbornly expensive problem, and Greece decided to start building ships again. Just another week in shipping
The global shipping industry, from December 14–20, 2025, saw container rates spike as geopolitical temperatures rose. Maersk cautiously re-entered the Red Sea, while Ukraine’s drone campaign expanded into the Mediterranean Sea
While the world was distracted, COSCO quietly signed a $7 billion deal for 87 new ships. This colossal move isn’t just about adding vessels; it’s a calculated reconstruction of maritime power—one that could reshape global shipping for a decade
While its own CFO, Ramon Fernandez, forecasts a grim 2026 for shipping, CMA CGM is pouring billions into an unprecedented expansion. This is not just business; it’s a high-stakes declaration of strategic intent
