Monday, October 26, 2026
The news that moves freight
Ocean Oct 26, 2026 · 8 min read

Maersk cuts its India–US peak surcharge as carriers reprice November lane by lane

Maersk cuts India–US East Coast surcharge to $5,150 a box. Maersk’s peak season surcharge (PSS, an extra charge per box on top of the base rate) from north-west India to US East and Gulf ports is now $5,150. On 2 October it was $7,150, according to Container News. Houston fell from $7,300 to $5,700. The West Coast charge is $3,400. We think the India–US peak is over and Maersk is pricing to win cargo back. Not everyone is cutting: MSC adds $200 from Türkiye and Greece on 1 November. Our call: Maersk’s north-west India PSS to the East Coast falls below $4,000 by 15 December.

India’s peak surcharge is coming down fast. Plenty of November’s other charges are not

Since Friday 23 October, Maersk has charged $5,150 per container on top of its base rate to move dry boxes from north-west India, Nepal and Bhutan to US and Canadian East and Gulf ports, excluding Houston. Houston costs $5,700 per box from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. Any port on the US or Canadian West Coast costs $3,400 per box. That covers 20ft and 40ft dry, high cubes, 45ft high cubes and reefers, from 16 origin countries across the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East. Container News reported the levels on 25 October and wrote: “The new surcharge levels apply from 23 October 2026.”

The charge is a peak season surcharge, or PSS. That is an extra fee per box on top of the base freight rate. Carriers say it covers the extra cost of busy months. In practice it works as a quick price lever that a carrier can move with little notice.

At first glance, $5,700 a box looks like a huge new cost. It is actually a cut. It is the latest step down from levels that were much higher a few weeks ago.

What we think is happening

Our view: the India–US peak is over, and Maersk is cutting the PSS to keep its ships full. It is not trying to add cost. We also think the wider November picture is a market being repriced one lane at a time, with carriers raising charges where they can and cutting where they must. It is not a single, market-wide rate rise.

That matters for forwarders. A quote built on a September surcharge sheet is now too high on India–US. On other lanes, a quote built on an October sheet is too low.

The proof: how far the India–US surcharge has fallen

Container News has reported each step in Maersk’s surcharge on this trade this year:

  • January. Maersk set a West Coast PSS of $1,000 per container from 25 February, Container News reported on 27 January.
  • July. Container News reported on 18 July that the West Coast charge would rise in stages to $5,000 from 15 August. The Houston charge from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives would go up to $5,800.
  • August. On 13 August Container News reported a West Coast PSS of $8,000 from 15 September. East and Gulf Coast charges would reach $9,650 from north-west India and $9,800 to Houston.
  • Early September. A Container News report dated 3 September listed planned levels from 1 October of $11,650 from north-west India and $11,800 to Houston.
  • 2 October. The revised levels set from 2 October were $7,150 from north-west India and $7,300 to Houston, according to Container News on 5 October.
  • 23 October. $5,150 and $5,700. West Coast $3,400.

From 2 October to 23 October, that is a cut of $2,000 a box (28%) on the north-west India line and $1,600 (22%) to Houston. The West Coast charge is now well under half the $8,000 reported for mid-September. Houston is back below the July level.

In our view, carriers do not cut a surcharge by thousands of dollars in three weeks when ships are full. These numbers are our main evidence that demand on India–US has cooled.

Not every carrier on the lane is moving the same way. Hapag-Lloyd announced a general rate increase (GRI, a flat rise in the base rate) of $1,000 per container from the Indian Subcontinent, Pakistan and the Middle East to the US East Coast and Houston. It applies to containers gated in full from 15 October, Container News reported on 17 September. So the total price on this lane depends heavily on which carrier you book.

The rest of November: some charges up, some down

The other charges for 1 November point in different directions.

MSC, East Med and Black Sea to north Europe: up. MSC is adding an Emergency Operations Surcharge of $200, €200 or £200 per container, depending on the trade. It covers cargo from Greece, Türkiye, the Black Sea and non-Italian Adriatic ports to north-west Continental Europe, the UK and the Scandinavia–Baltic region. It applies by bill of lading date from 1 November and stays “until further notice”. According to MSC, as reported by Container News, it reflects additional costs arising from the current market and operational environment. MSC is also changing the port rotation on its north Europe–Greece/Türkiye service. The ships will call Le Havre, Antwerp, Felixstowe, Vigo, Sines, Piraeus, Gemlik, Tekirdag, Aliaga, Sines and then Le Havre again.

Maersk, Gulf to West Africa: down. Maersk is cutting its Emergency Contingency Surcharge (ECS) from Jebel Ali, Jordan, Sohar, Fujairah and Khor Fakkan to West Africa. A 20ft dry box falls from $2,450 to $1,950. A 40ft dry box falls from $3,550 to $3,150. Maersk says: “A reduction of the surcharge will take effect from the Price Calculation Date (PCD) 1st November 2026.” The price calculation date is the date Maersk uses to decide which tariff applies. Maersk adds that the rates “apply to all OOG,SOC and NOR containers also”. Those are out-of-gauge boxes, shipper-owned boxes and non-operating reefers. Even after the cut, the charge is still above $3,000 per 40ft box.

Hapag-Lloyd, Italy inland: rail up. Hapag-Lloyd is changing its Italy inland fuel surcharge. Truck haulage falls from 16% to 15%. Combined rail and truck rises from 7.5% to 10%. Rail-only rises from 0% to 7%. The new rates apply from 2 November, or 21 November for US FMC-regulated shipments, Container News reported on 23 October.

Capacity: cut where rates are rising. Drewry’s Cancelled Sailings Tracker of 23 October counts 56 blank sailings out of 714 planned on the main East–West trades from 26 October to 30 November. A blank sailing is a scheduled voyage the carrier cancels. That is an 8% cancellation rate. Drewry says “92% of services are expected to operate”. Asia–North Europe and the Mediterranean account for 54% of the cancellations, the transpacific eastbound 32% and the transatlantic 14%. The Gemini Cooperation, the Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd network, has the lowest blank sailing rate of the major groups at 1%.

Drewry’s World Container Index rose 2% in the week to 22 October, to $4,585 per 40ft container. Asia–Europe and the Mediterranean rose 4%, the transatlantic 3% and the transpacific 1%. Drewry’s summary: “Freight rates are moving up ahead of January contract negotiations.” It also says “Suez Canal transits are gradually recovering”.

Put together, carriers are taking out capacity and adding charges where they think they can make a rise stick, mainly Asia–Europe. Where cargo is soft, such as India–US, they are cutting.

What it means for forwarders and shippers

Re-quote India–US now. Any India or Gulf cargo to North America that gated in from 23 October should be priced at the new levels. If your sell rate still includes a September or early-October PSS, you are overcharging, and a competitor booking direct with Maersk will undercut you. A Tradlinx summary of Maersk’s September filings says that for US non-spot bookings the price calculation date is the last container gate-in date, and that the PSS does not apply to spot bookings. Check both points on your own contract.

Watch the Houston split. On the East and Gulf Coast table, the Houston line costs $550 more than the north-west India line to other ports. For a Texas customer, routing through Savannah or New York with a truck or rail leg may be worth pricing against a direct Houston call. That is our suggestion, not a carrier statement. Whether it works depends on the inland cost.

Compare carriers on the same lane. Maersk cutting its PSS and Hapag-Lloyd adding $1,000 in a GRI means the gap between carriers on India–US is wide this month. Compare the total landed price, not the base rate alone.

Update Türkiye and Greece quotes past 31 October. Add $200, €200 or £200 per box on MSC from 1 November, and check transit times against the new rotation.

Gulf to West Africa gets slightly cheaper. The ECS cut lowers landed cost on UAE and Oman exports to West Africa from 1 November. The remaining charge is still large.

Book Asia–Europe space early. With 54% of the blank sailings on Asia–Europe and rates rising there, November space will be tightest on that trade, in our view. Gemini’s 1% blank rate means its schedules are the most likely to run as published.

Treat surcharges as rate. A PSS set at $1,000 in January, over $9,000 by September and near $5,000 now is not a cost-recovery fee, in our view. It is part of the freight rate. Contracts that let carriers change surcharges freely carry that risk. Shippers going into January contract talks should push to cap or fix PSS levels.

Our call

We expect Maersk to keep cutting on India–US. Our prediction: by 15 December 2026, Maersk’s PSS from north-west India to US East and Gulf ports other than Houston will be below $4,000 per container, and the West Coast PSS will be at or below $2,500. If Suez routings keep coming back, as Drewry describes, we think more capacity will reach the US East Coast and push the surcharge down faster. If Maersk instead raises the PSS before mid-December, that would mean India–US demand has picked up again, and we will have been wrong.

Sources