Freightos Baltics: Transpacific rates diverge as typhoon disruption adds pressure on Asian ports

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Transpacific container rates diverged last week, with East Coast prices edging up 2% to $3,426/FEU, while West Coast rates fell 5% to $2,185/FEU. Daily spot prices to the West Coast have slipped below $1,900/FEU so far this week. Asian routes to Northern Europe and Mediterranean both dropped significantly at 15%, hitting the lowest levels since December 2023 on weakened demand.

Typhoon Ragasa brought severe disruption across Taiwan, the Philippines, and Southern China before making landfall in Guangdong on Wednesday. Now downgraded to a tropical storm and tracking toward Vietnam, Ragasa forced the closure of all container ports and airports in Hong Kong and Southern China earlier this week. 

Some reopened Thursday, but operators warn that clearing the backlog will take time. Hapag-Lloyd expects delays of several days across major ports, with congestion in Yantian potentially stretching vessel waits by up to a week.

The disruption comes as shippers race to move cargoes ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday starting October 1. Still, the broader impact may be tempered, as much peak-season demand has already been pulled forward by tariff deadlines and earlier shipping to Europe.

For ex-China lanes, however, typhoon-induced congestion and an uptick in blanked sailings could give carriers temporary support to steady rates as demand softens into the fourth quarter.

In parallel, trade tensions remain in focus. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a call earlier this week, primarily addressing a resolution for TikTok but also signalling progress on broader trade discussions. 

With the current US–China tariff truce set to expire in November, the Office of the US Trade Representative will begin imposing port call fees on Chinese carriers and China-built vessels from 14 October. COSCO said it does not expect service disruptions or new surcharges, a position echoed by Maersk. 

Meanwhile, US tariffs of 50% on Brazilian goods have already led to sharp declines in Brazil–US container flows.

Written: Farid Muzaffar