Tuesday, October 20, 2026
The news that moves freight
The Freight Brief Oct 18, 2026

What’s going on in freight — Sunday 18 October 2026

Conflict is setting the agenda: attacks in and around Hormuz hit a war high, drones are striking ships at the mouth of the Danube, and the Houthi–Saudi fight is testing the Suez comeback just as carriers lean on it. On the commercial side, Asia–Europe rates have turned up ahead of 19 October FAK hikes, Washington shelved its Graham Act Russia penalties, and DHL’s upgraded forecast sets the bar for DSV and Kuehne+Nagel this week.

War, chokepoints and disruption

  • Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says two supertankers hit mines in Hormuz on 16 and 17 October; neither ship has been named, but UKMTO says at least 10 vessels were attacked in a week, the most of the war. Iran says the strait would reopen “on the sixth day” if its terms are met. HNGN, CBS News [01]
  • The Houthis have blockaded Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi-flagged tankers, AFP reports, and Egypt’s parliament resumes debate on Monday on sending troops to Saudi Arabia. That lands as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd move Asia–Europe services back through Suez, with the AE12 switch due on 27 October. CBS News, Gulf News, Ahram Online [04]
  • Romanian F-16s shot down two attack drones 11 and 13 nautical miles off Sulina, the Danube’s sea entrance, after two tankers were hit off Romania earlier in the week. The Maritime Executive counts 23 seafarers killed or missing off Romania and Bulgaria in two weeks. The Maritime Executive, Riviera [06]

Rates and markets

  • Drewry’s Shanghai–Rotterdam rate rose 6% to $3,522 per 40ft on 15 October, ending 13 weeks of decline. Carriers want far more from 19 October: Hapag-Lloyd’s North Europe FAK is $4,200 and MSC’s $4,500, but Drewry says returning Suez capacity makes the hikes uncertain. Drewry, Container News [05]
  • Maersk lifts its US inland fuel surcharge from $140 to $215 per container on 1 November, even though weekly US diesel has fallen three weeks running to $6.18 a gallon. Container News, Overdrive [09]

Tariffs, customs and policy

  • On 16 October President Trump waived the Russia sections of the Graham Act, shelving tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods and up to 100% on the biggest buyers of Russian energy, plus sanctions on ships carrying Russian oil products. The waiver can be reversed at any time. ABC News, Reuters via Sowetan [02]
  • A US–Mexico deal to cut the 25% tariff on Mexican cars and the 50% tariff on steel and aluminium has stalled over Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s objections, the Wall Street Journal reported; both governments deny it. New US-content rules for Section 232 metals duties have applied since 14 October. Investing.com, Mexico News Daily [08]
  • Scheduling filings in the IEEPA tariff refund class action are due Thursday 22 October. The trade court estimates about $30 billion could otherwise stay with the government, but no class-wide refund has been ordered. Supply Chain Dive, Davis Wright Tremaine [10]
  • The US Coast Guard is reviewing whether COSCO ships keep Qualship 21 status, which means fewer routine inspections, after three House chairmen asked for their removal. Section 301 port fees on Chinese-operated ships are set to return on 10 November. gCaptain, FreightWaves [11]

Forwarders, carriers and deals

  • DHL Group raised its 2026 EBIT forecast to above EUR 7.0bn from more than EUR 6.5bn. Express EBIT rose to about EUR 1,035m, with about EUR 100m credited to tight air capacity, and Global Forwarding reached about EUR 260m. DSV reports on 21 October and Kuehne+Nagel on 22 October. DHL Group, Kuehne+Nagel [03]
  • A Dallas County judge upheld the USD 604m jury verdict against C.H. Robinson over a 2021 fatal crash; pre-judgment interest takes the total past USD 700m. FreightWaves [07]

Software, AI and automation

  • New York startup Evos raised $9 million in pre-seed funding for AI “operators” that run back-office jobs such as freight invoice audit. It says one operator made nearly 3,500 audit decisions in two months at 97% accuracy for a broker. FreightWaves, The Conveyor [12]
  • Daimler Truck expects its first driver-out route by the end of 2026 and commercial scale around 2028, with the virtual driver billed per mile, FreightWaves reports. FreightWaves [13]

Coming up

  • Mon 19 Oct: Egypt’s parliament resumes debate on sending forces to Saudi Arabia [04]; Asia–Europe FAK increases take effect [05]
  • Tue 20 Oct: NATO ambassadors meet on Black Sea defence [06]
  • Wed 21 Oct: DSV Q3 results [03]
  • Thu 22 Oct: Kuehne+Nagel nine-month results [03]; scheduling filings due in the IEEPA refund class action [10]
  • Tue 27 Oct: Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd AE12 service starts routing via Suez [04]
  • Wed 28 Oct: C.H. Robinson Q3 results [07]
  • Sun 1 Nov: Maersk US inland fuel surcharge rises to $215 [09]
  • Thu 5 Nov: DHL Group full Q3 report [03]
  • Tue 10 Nov: Section 301 port fees on Chinese-operated ships set to return [11]