The global shipping industry is constantly evolving, and the COVID-19 pandemic began a marked shift in how container shipping operates. Disruption caused by the pandemic has forced the industry to expand its capacity and reduce costs to remain profitable.
At the peak of the pandemic, containers essentially stopped moving. As manufacturers went into lockdown and closed factories, many of the containers used to ship those manufactured goods were left stranded at ports or storage depots, where they weren’t needed. Simultaneously, freight shippers were reducing the number of vessels in use due to the manufacturing slowdown. This limited global shipping capacity and disrupted the worldwide flow of containers and goods. As a result, some regions were left with an excess of stored containers, while other places were left with no containers at all.
As the pandemic slowed and the global economy began to rebound, labor shortages and congestion at ports have left many of these stored containers stuck where they aren’t needed. Now, instead of a shortage of shipping containers, the industry is dealing with too many. Many container storage depots are turning away new clients due to lack of space, and some shippers are even giving containers away to make room. Blank and cancelled sailings are increasing as well, as shippers decide to skip a port or cancel a trip altogether in order to manage changes in demand and capacity.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on the state of the container shipping industry. You can also visit our maritime news archive to learn more about cargo shipping, or our American Shipper archive for air cargo shipping industry news.
Leading container carrier suspends all worldwide bookings to Middle East destinations.
A U.S.-flag bulk tanker was hit by projectiles at the Port of Bahrain, the first American merchant ship to come under attack in the Iran war.
The largest container vessel lines shifted operations as Iran attacked Persian Gulf ports and tanker vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Businesses are bracing for higher air cargo rates and shipping delays as airlines ground aircraft and avoid Middle East airspace as the U.S. and Israel battle Iran.
Houthi rebels in Yemen warned they will resume drone and missile attacks on Red Sea shipping after Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran.
A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by the International Longshoremen’s Union alleging the Virginia Port Authority had interfered with the newly-signed union contract when it installed automated cranes at one of its container terminals.
U.S. ocean line Matson said its terminal joint venture shored up fourth quarter results as container volumes fell on weaker China traffic.
The Port of Long Beach recorded its second-busiest January ever despite the ongoing effects of the China-U.S. trade war and economic uncertainty.
Just weeks after returning, Maersk will again divert some voyages, including a U.S. service, away from the volatile Red Sea-Suez Canal route.
Ocean Network Express liner operator announces leadership transitions as founding CEO Jeremy Nixon steps down.
Port Houston logs largest January on record; Corpus Christi freight up 6.5% despite crude oil dip
Container gains at this eastern maritime hub led all Canadian ports in 2025.
Panama on Monday reportedly took over operations of container terminals at the Panama Canal, ending decades-long control by China.
Maersk says it’s digging out from the record blizzard that shut down handling at its Port Newark-Elizabeth container terminal.
Xeneta: Iran tensions could delay Red Sea return While ocean carriers wrangle with too many ships and too little cargo, continuing weak rates on the Asia-U.S. trade route are starting to show up on other benchmark shipping lanes. “Average spot rates are down this week across all main fronthaul trades out of the Far East,” […]
Container terminals and supporting facilities were closed Monday as the Northeast U.S. was pounded by the biggest winter storm in a decade.
Trump could leverage fees on container imports to raise revenue after the Supreme Court declared his emergency tariffs illegal.
Supreme Court rules President Donald Trump exceeded his authority under emergency law to impose tariffs on more than 90 U.S. trading partners.
The world’s fifth-largest ocean shipping line is testing real-time container visibility on 2 million containers.
Container rates continued to fall on Asia-U.S. trade lanes as shippers wait out the Lunar New Year holiday.
Norfolk Southern and CMA CGM are offering a new door-to-door intermodal service incorporating rail’s reach with truckload simplicity.
Unsettled trade policy and cautious importers were reflected in falling January container volumes at the Port of Los Angeles.
Medlog has opened Medlog 1, a major integrated logistics park in Saudi Arabia, strengthening the country’s position as a global logistics hub.
Zim, Israel’s flag ocean carrier, confirmed it will be acquired by Hapag-Lloyd of Germany for $4.2 billion.
Hapag-Lloyd said it is in advanced negotiations to acquire the Israeli flag carrier.
A fee on foreign-built vessels is the linchpin to help fund President Trump’s plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding.
The head of DP World resigned Friday after his links to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed by a U.S. Congressman.
A closely-watched container price index fell for the fifth consecutive week as lower freight on benchmark ocean routes pressured global rates.
A major Canadian pension fund has halted investment with DP World after the Dubai company’s CEO emerged as an associate of deceased American sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
A Hong Kong port terminal operator has threatened legal action after its Panama port contracts were cancelled.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said a new executive team will succeed Takeshi Hashimoto as leadership of the Japan-based container carrier.
Muted demand marks the trans-Pacific container market post-Lunar New Year as ocean freight rates are easing earlier than usual.
Hapag-Lloyd container volumes increased on robust trade growth but diverted voyages away from the Red Sea hurt average freight rates.
CBP is shifting to mandatory pre-departure electronic filing for U.S. cargo exports to close security gaps and streamline maritime trade.
Despite a decline in China trade traffic, the Port of New York-New Jersey saw loaded containers increase in 2025.
Pacific northwest ports have signed an agreement to create an inland logistics hub to boost Washington state trade.
The world’s largest asset manager could back an effort by the world’s biggest container line to buy the busiest container terminal at the leading U.S. East Coast port.
Mediterranean Shipping Company earned a substantial fine from the Federal Maritime Commission for three separate Shipping Act violations.
Overcapacity and global trade headwinds sent Maersk to a Q4 pre-tax loss on container volumes that improved by 8%.
The Chinese company operating ports at the Panama Canal has filed for arbitration after a high court voided its contracts.
One of the biggest ocean container shipping partnerships said it will return to the Red Sea-Suez Canal trade route with help from naval forces.
Falling prices for containers moving from Asia to the United States could be one indicator that truck rates and tender rejections will soon continue to move up.
Ocean Network Express posted a net loss of $88 million in the third fiscal quarter on weaker container traffic and rates.
The Hong Kong company that operates ports at the Panama Canal will have to relinquish control after a court ruling.
Port Houston posted record container and truck volumes in 2025, while Port of Corpus Christi saw modest overall declines in cargo traffic.
CMA CGM forms a joint venture to manage 10 global marine terminals, including two in the United States.
Container rates on a key U.S. route are dropping earlier than expected, suggesting retailer caution caused by trade war uncertainty.
The Federal Maritime Commission is investigating whether ocean carriers are restricting truckers’ and shippers’ choice of chassis providers.
A chilling video by Yemen’s Houthi militia seemed to threaten more violence against Red Sea shipping if the U.S. attacks Iran.
Ocean container rates out of Asia fell by double-digits in the latest week following Chinese New Year.
Container ports and railroads along the upper Atlantic seaboard are taking safety measures ahead of the storm that could bring heavy snow to key logistics corridors.
As global trade tensions persist, Misumi has turned to digital manufacturing leader Dave Evans to guide its Americas growth strategy.
Underscoring maritime’s global importance, top U.S. port’s CEO was invited to the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss trade and supply chains.
The Port of Los Angeles saw its third-best year for container volume despite months of challenging trade headwinds and economic uncertainty.
A major ocean container line reversed its decision to return to the Red Sea just weeks after resuming scheduled sailings through the troubled trade route.
Ocean container shipping holds its collective breath as Trump threatens new EU tariffs over Greenland purchase.
The Port of Long Beach, half of the busiest U.S. container gateway, is laying plans to double throughput to 20 million containers by 2050.
A return of major liners to the Red Sea could return massive capacity to shipping and further pressure rates in an uneven market, an analyst says.
Maersk is returning to the Red Sea for the first time since Houthi rebels began attacking shipping in 2023.
The Port of Oakland saw container volumes finish narrowly down in 2025 amid uneven trade conditions.
Trans-Pacific shipping rates have been increasing since mid-December, rising by approximately 5% in the last week.
Canada’s Port Saint John and DP World completed the eastern maritime hub’s $178 million West Side Modernization Project.
Iran protests could signal a positive change for shipping as Maersk makes another successful voyage on the contested Red Sea-Suez Canal shipping route.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved construction of the Sparrows Point Container Terminal project backed by Mediterranean Shipping Co.
Global container demand grew 7.2% y/y in November, except in North America, where it fell 3.9%.
The Port of Portland has re-opened Terminal 6 under private management in a move to give new life to the troubled facility.
Container rates on the eastbound trans-Pacific are climbing, but several factors are likely to weigh on a rebound.
The Port of Oakland saw agricultural and refrigerated exports post November gains while overall volumes were seasonally weaker.
The Trump administration delayed planned tariff hikes on furniture, while sharply reducing proposed 90% duties on Italian pasta.
The Maduro regime left Venezeula’s busiest port “in shambles,” as an international port services consortium seeks to reclaim its concession there.
Rising trans-Pacific ocean freight rates are expected to climb further as demand picks up in anticipation of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Maersk has promoted its Asia Pacific chief and former Schenker executive to lead its North America business.
That shift from passive tracking to active intelligence is what separates Portcast from the crowded field of logistics visibility tools.
Israel-based Zim said it is evaluating multiple acquisition proposals reported to include Maersk, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd but has ruled out a buyout by its CEO.
The Asia-U.S. container market continued its Q4 volatility, with climbing West Coast rates offset by a dip in East Coast prices.
There has been no confirmation regarding online images that appear to show a Chinese cargo ship equipped with missile launchers, radar and other military hardware.
Port Houston’s cargo volumes declined in November amid seasonal and market headwinds.
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority announced the retirement of CEO Jeff Theobald, the fourth such leadership change at a North American port this year.
The U.S. ocean container market is a tale of two coasts as carriers manage divergent conditions, notes analyst Xeneta.
A Maersk vessel made a successful transit of the Red Sea, but the carrier said it is not ready to commit to a full return to the Suez Canal trade route.
Despite trade uncertainty, Port of Los Angeles volume nears 10 million TEUs in 2025, among the top three years in its history.
The top U.S. East Coast port adds more than three decades to lease with its busiest container terminal operator as it eyes long-term growth.
Ocean Network Express will return to the Red Sea in a slot charter agreement with Regional Container Lines of China
China is pushing for state-owned ship operator Cosco to acquire a controlling stake in a $22.8 billion deal for global ports that include two Panama Canal hubs.
Capacity reductions and additional blanked sailings by carriers struggle to maintain recent General Rate Increases on the trans-Pacific.
Nauta was founded just a year and a half ago on the premise that global supply chains run on unglamorous but essential work, and that this work is long overdue for a technological upgrade. Built by a team of technologists and logistics obsessives, the company set out to build an AI-native operating system for importers. […]
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said they are eliminating a U.S. East Coast call as the Gemini partners fine-tune North Europe-North America services.
Maersk has appointed a new CFO and shifted regional business leaders, including for North America, as rival carriers chip away at its dominant position in the global shipping business.
A supply and demand imbalance continues to weaken pricing on U.S. container trade routes as ocean carriers chase a softer market with more ships, particularly to the U.S. East Coast, Xeneta data shows.
DP World is rebranding its Unifeeder liner operator and two other divisions as it unifies its Marine Services units.
Mexico approved tariffs of up to 50% on Chinese and Asian imports, a move analysts say is aimed at placating the Trump administration.
A car accident claimed the life of a Florida port executive early Monday in Jacksonville.
Year-over-year declines in import cargo volume at major container ports are expected to continue in 2026 due to the impact of tariffs and ongoing trade policy uncertainty.
A recent uptick in eastbound container rates couldn’t offset trans-Pacific prices that are 20%-30% lower than a month ago.
The Alabama Port Authority has begun the $100 million reconstruction of Pier B South, while construction advances on the Montgomery Intermodal Container Transfer Facility.
Hapag-Lloyd wants to buy Israel’s Zim container line, but Arab investment in the German company could push a deal to another suitor.
A global ocean container index rose 7% amid rate adjustments on key trans-Pacific and Asia–Europe routes.
Port of Long Beach second-in-command Noel Hacegaba is moving up to chief executive as Mario Cordero departs.
Costco has sued the Trump administration to secure potential refunds on its import tariffs.
Container ships sailing through the Suez Canal marked the second-lowest weekly level amid talk of a return by the largest box carriers through the Mideast trade route.
