Intra-Asia maritime market remains under immense pressure for this week. In the period from June 18 to June 25, regional trading routes have been facing congestion, capacity pressures.
Intra-Asia Ocean Freight Update – June 19 to June 25, 2026
Intra-Asia maritime market remains under immense pressure for this week. In the period from June 18 to June 25, regional trading routes have been facing congestion, capacity pressures, and early peak season demand that sent benchmark rates indexes to new highs since mid-2023.
Early Peak Season Drives Record Rates
Intra-Asia shipping costs have already gone up by more than twice the pre-war rate due to front-loading techniques and disrupted supply chains. Shippers are being very aggressive with the transportation of their cargo way ahead of time in order to beat possible July tariffs. This has led to a huge rise in the flow of cargo between China and Southeast Asia.
Spot rates on key regional corridors showed significant volatility this week:
• China to Southeast Asia: Rates from Shanghai to Jakarta jumped 12% to reach $1,791 per 40-foot container (FEU). Meanwhile, pricing from Shanghai to Laem Chabang saw a brief correction, falling 12% to $1,090 per FEU.
• Southeast Asia to China: Rates out of manufacturing hubs into China held remarkably steady, with Laem Chabang and Ho Chi Minh City to Shanghai maintaining at $232 and $65 per FEU, respectively.
"Sticky" Port Congestion and Equipment Shortages
Capacity constraints within the region are significantly exacerbated by the problem of sticky congestion at Asia's key transshipment ports. The congestion problem persists at the facilities of Singapore, where utilization rates are highly critical due to the large number of containers being displaced. This backlog has resulted in vessel bunching and tail delay problems. What is more, the congestion is hampering the necessary process of repositioning empty containers to the South Asian markets.
Carriers Optimize Regional Services
In an effort to overcome poor schedule reliability, regional carriers are currently making efforts to change their feeder network. In a new development this week, CNC made an important announcement to upgrade its Japan Thailand Vietnam Service (JTVS). As part of improving transit time from Thailand and South Vietnam to Japan, the company officially discontinued calling at the Keelung port on the northbound route. The new rotation will keep using four ships with 1,600-2,000 TEUs capacity.
The Hormuz Ripple Effect
While an interim diplomatic agreement between the U.S. and Iran was signed recently to ostensibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Intra-Asia market has yet to feel any capacity relief. Deep uncertainty surrounding the agreement's actual implementation means that global carriers are keeping their mega-vessels deployed on extended Cape of Good Hope detours. Until these global fleets return to standard routing, the Intra-Asia market will remain starved of vital mid-sized feeder tonnage, keeping baseline costs artificially high due to sustained bunker fuel surcharges.
Short-Term Outlook
Supply chain managers should expect the Intra-Asia market to remain heavily constrained through July. Shippers must anticipate ongoing equipment shortages, budget for record-high spot rates, and build significant buffer time into regional transit schedules to account for the stubborn congestion at primary transshipment hubs.
