Container rates from east Asia and China to the United States rose this week, while liquid chemical tanker freight ex‑US Gulf remained broadly stable, sources indicated on 27 September 2026.
The brokerage cited resilient cargo demand across Asia‑US trades and ongoing weather related congestion at Asian ports as the principal factors lifting box rates. The report placed westbound container rates to the US West Coast in a range of $7,400 to $8,300 per FEU.
Sources described the trend as continuing this week, with demand outpacing available sailings on several strings. That imbalance, together with port delays caused by adverse weather, was given as the proximate cause of the upward pressure on rates.
Rates to other US gateways were not specified in the supplied notes. The only concrete price bracket provided in the report concerned the west coast corridor, where the $7,400 to $8,300 per FEU band was recorded.
Container lanes to the US
According to the report, carriers serving east Asia and China routes have encountered persistent congestion at origin ports, which has disrupted schedules and reduced effective lift capacity. Those operating constraints, coupled with continued consumer and industrial demand for imports, were cited as sustaining the recent rate rises.
The reports item did not detail carrier surcharges, blank sailings or specific schedule omissions, nor did it provide a breakdown by individual Chinese ports. It confined its price reporting to the stated US West Coast range and the general observation of resilient demand.
Tanker market ex‑US Gulf
In contrast to container trades, the newsletter noted that liquid chemical tanker rates out of the US Gulf were largely flat to slightly higher. The description indicates only modest movement in that segment during the same reporting period.
No tank size bands, voyage estimates or charter rates were supplied in the notes. The account limited itself to the broad characterisation of the tanker market as steady to mildly firmer from the US Gulf origins.
The juxtaposition of stronger container rates with a steady tanker market reflects differing short term dynamics across trades. For containerships the immediate constraint was physical disruption at ports plus demand; for chemical tankers the supply‑demand balance was described as stable in the supplied report.
Sources published the item under the headline Asia‑US container rates still rising; liquid tanker rates ex‑US Gulf largely stable on 27 September 2026. The report provides a snapshot of prevailing market conditions for that date and offers the stated price range as the clearest numerical detail for the week covered.