What’s going on in freight

Carriers reported a run of bumper third quarters built on price rather than volume, even as Drewry’s index slid again and lines doubled transpacific blank sailings. Elsewhere, Trump threatened to double tariffs on Mexico, the Gulf danger zone spread beyond Hormuz, and LA/Long Beach heads into its 20 November strike deadline with 14,500 rail boxes stuck nine days or more.

War, chokepoints and disruption

• The crude tanker Dominica Prosperity was hit by a projectile about 14 nautical miles off Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, on 11 November, after clearing the strait, and all 22 crew were evacuated. About 211 ships now sit at anchor east of Hormuz, the military monitor JMIC says, and the Houthis claim strikes on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, the main route that bypasses the strait. (gCaptain, House of Saud) Our story →
• About 9,500 rail-bound import boxes at Los Angeles and 5,063 at Long Beach have waited nine days or more for a train, gCaptain reported on 12 November, after LA handled 1,026,872 TEU in October. Longshore Locals 13 and 63 say they will honour any picket by the 250 watchmen, whose contract runs to 20 November. (gCaptain, FreightWaves) Our story →

Rates and markets

• Drewry’s World Container Index fell 2% on 12 November to $4,305 per 40ft, with Shanghai–Los Angeles down 2% to $7,416 and Shanghai–New York down 3% to $9,020. Carriers have doubled transpacific blank sailings (cancelled voyages) from four to eight next week. (Drewry) Our story →
• Global air freight rates rose 6.6% in a week to their 2026 high on the Baltic Air Freight Index, with Frankfurt outbound up 9.9% a week after falling 6.5%. Nippon Express credits “strong demand for semiconductor-related shipments” for its higher air volume. (IndexBox, Air Cargo News) Our story →

Tariffs, customs and policy

• Trump said on 12 November that tariffs on Mexico “will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED” unless it stops migrant caravans, but named no rate, start date or legal authority. Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, played it down. (FreightWaves, Texas Public Radio) Our story →
• Lawyers for the IEEPA refund class asked the Court of International Trade on 10 November to order refunds with interest for about 330,000 importers of record, including those who never sued. Fortune puts about $166bn at stake; the Justice Department must answer the complaint by 13 November. (Fortune, Startup Fortune) Our story →
• US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on 12 November that Washington and Ottawa had talked about a deal “within the past few days”, but gave no timeline. The 50% Section 338 tariffs on covered Canadian goods, in force since 22 August, still apply. (BNN Bloomberg, Covington) Our story →
• EU ambassadors agreed in principle on 11 November to add 145 people and companies to the Russia sanctions lists, covering refineries and the “shadow fleet ecosystem”, with adoption expected on Monday 16 November. More than 690 vessels are already listed. (European Pravda) Our story →
• The EU is reportedly set to delay the 10% tariff on UK-built electric cars due from 1 January 2027, Reuters reported on 12 November, citing the FT. (BusinessDay (Reuters)) Our story →

Forwarders, carriers and deals

• Hapag-Lloyd’s Q3 EBITDA doubled to $1.73bn on flat volume of 3.38m TEU, as its average rate rose to $1,808 per TEU from $1,413. It lifted its 2026 EBIT guidance for the second time, to $2.0–2.4bn. (FreightWaves, Investing.com) Our story →
• HMM’s Q3 operating profit rose 370% to ₩1.39trn, a 34% margin, and Evergreen’s Q3 net profit rose 114% to TWD 46.6bn. (Newsway, Liberty Times Net) Our story →
• Mainfreight’s net profit rose 66.4% to NZD 155.39m in the six months to September. Air and ocean profit before tax grew a slower 28.9%, to NZD 67.82m. (TransportTalk) Our story →
• HHLA’s Hamburg terminals handled 4.20m TEU in January–September, down 7.7%, and group EBIT fell 30.7% to €81.2m. HHLA blames “ongoing modernisation measures”. (HHLA, FreshPlaza) Our story →

Software, AI and automation

• German digital road forwarder sennder announced €228m of financing on 11 November, but only €73m is equity. The other €155m is credit, including a €100m Coface factoring line and €40m of EIB venture debt. (Tech Funding News, MultiModal) Our story →
• US broker Fura Freight says its AI agent, Donna, now handles more than 40% of its load bookings. A day later, forwarder Freight Right put quoting and tracking inside ChatGPT, though the plugin cannot confirm bookings. (FreightWaves, GlobeNewswire) Our story →

Coming up

• Friday 13 November: Justice Department’s answer to the IEEPA refund class complaint is due Our story →
• Monday 16 November: EU foreign ministers expected to adopt the 145 new Russia listings Our story →
• 18–19 November: APEC leaders meet in Shenzhen Our story →
• Thursday 19 November: Drewry’s next World Container Index reading Our story →
• Friday 20 November: LA/Long Beach watchmen contract extension expires Our story →
• Tuesday 1 December: Hapag-Lloyd’s new Far East–Europe FAK rates apply Our story →
• Wednesday 9 December: Justice Department’s response to the class refund motion is due Our story →
• By 10 December: Yang Ming’s November revenue filing Our story →
• 1 January 2027: scheduled start of the EU’s 10% tariff on UK-built EVs, unless delayed Our story →
• 10 January 2027: US–China tariff truce runs out unless extended Our story →
• 27 May 2027: Mainfreight full-year result Our story →