What’s going on in freight

Labour and war risk set the day: dockworkers stopped work at 113 ports in 22 countries, the LA/Long Beach watchmen deadline moved to Wednesday 4 November, and attacks in Hormuz have shifted to small boats planting explosives on ship hulls. On rates and policy, the last index print before the 1 November rate round shows only the Mediterranean firming, while Grimaldi warned USTR it could pull ships from US trades and Canada tied itself closer to the EU.

War, chokepoints and disruption

• A small boat attached two explosive devices above the waterline of the tanker Louise 1 about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, on Thursday evening, UKMTO said, and on Friday a Panama-flagged ship caught fire off Musandam and 25 crew were evacuated. Mine clearance does nothing against hull attacks like these, so Gulf war-risk surcharges and workarounds look set to stay. (Euronews, Iran International) Our story →
• Dockworkers stopped work at 113 ports in 22 countries on Friday 30 October, Reuters reported, including 24 French ports and two-hour stoppages at 16 Spanish ports. Italy’s USB union defied a government order to postpone, so expect late, bunched arrivals at Mediterranean hubs next week. (Reuters, WSWS) Our story →
• The strike deadline for about 250 ILWU Local 26 watchmen at Los Angeles and Long Beach moved from Sunday 1 November to 5pm Pacific on Wednesday 4 November, with federal mediators assisting. Their terminals handle about 85% of Long Beach cargo and 33% of LA’s, and 35,688 import boxes were already waiting for rail on 26 October. (gCaptain, FreightWaves) Our story →

Rates and markets

• The SCFI rose 0.2% to 3,687.35 on 30 October, its fourth weekly gain, but only the Mediterranean is lifting it: Far East–Med rose 2.9% to $3,350 per TEU while Far East–US East Coast fell 1.8% to $10,199 per FEU. (UDN, Economic Daily News) Our story →

Tariffs, customs and policy

• Grimaldi told USTR on 30 October, the last day for comments, that it could move ships out of US trades and asked for the Section 301 car-carrier fees to be suspended for good. It says 86% of its US-trade cargo is tied to American carmakers; the proposed pause runs to 9 January 2027. (gCaptain, Holland & Knight) Our story →
• Canada and the EU launched an “Alliance for the Future” at their Montreal summit on 30 October, with a pledge on port-to-port links but no tariff, quota or customs changes. The US took 72.5% of Canadian merchandise exports in 2025, TIME reports. (Prime Minister of Canada, TIME) Our story →

Forwarders, carriers and deals

• Spain’s Boluda Shipping agreed to buy Icelandic shortsea carrier Samskip, creating a group with 32 ships on 18 routes, 21 container terminals and about 750,000 TEU a year, due to complete on 1 January. It leaves fewer independent bidders on Iberia–North Europe and Europe–West Africa door-to-door work. (The Maritime Executive) Our story →

Software, AI and automation

• Walmart made an initial commitment of about $6bn to Symbotic on 29 October to automate 25 US regional distribution centres, adding robots that pick single items for online orders. Vendors and the forwarders serving them should expect stricter carton, label and receiving rules. (GlobeNewswire) Our story →
• Alfa Laval’s StormGeo has bought Portchain, whose port-call network links carriers with more than 200 terminals, to tie ship speed to confirmed berth times. Nothing in the deal yet shares that data with shippers or forwarders. (DataPortuaria) Our story →

Coming up

• Sunday 1 November: carriers’ November rate round takes effect Our story →
• Tuesday 3 November: US midterm elections Our story →
• Wednesday 4 November, 5pm Pacific: new LA/Long Beach watchmen strike deadline Our story →
• 9 November: current USTR port fee pause ends; the proposed extension would run from 10 November Our story →
• Around 19 November: Drewry’s week-47 World Container Index Our story →
• 1 January 2027: Boluda–Samskip deal due to complete; threatened 50% US tariffs on Canadian vehicles and parts Our story → Our story →
• 9 January 2027: end of the proposed USTR port fee pause Our story →
• 2027 EU–Canada summit: target for defining Canada’s “association” with the EU Our story →