Container ship capacity through the Suez Canal has climbed to more than half of pre-disruption levels, according to new data cited by reports on 14 October 2026.
Clarksons Research figures show that during the first two weeks of October weekly container capacity transiting the canal averaged 753,000 TEU, compared with 1,457,000 TEU in the same period of 2023. The report notes this is the first time transits have exceeded 50 per cent of pre-disruption levels since the Houthi attacks began in the Red Sea.
The contrast with 2023 underscores the remaining shortfall: average weekly capacity is little more than half that seen before the security disruption. The Clarksons numbers were presented in the reports item dated 14 October 2026.
Shipping analysts and operators have watched flows through the canal closely since the Red Sea incidents forced many container services to reroute, alter schedules or lift sailings. The recent rise in transits does not restore the channel to its recent peak but marks a measurable step towards normalisation.
Freight rates, sailing patterns and service frequencies have all been affected by the period of disruption, but the cited data refers narrowly to capacity measured in TEU moving through the canal. The single metric offers a snapshot rather than a full picture of commercial recovery.
The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea remain the reference point for the disruption. Clarksons Research framed the comparison to 2023 levels to indicate the scale of the decline and the significance of the current rebound above the 50 per cent threshold.
What the numbers show
An average of 753,000 TEU per week during the first half of October represents the combined capacity of container ships recorded transiting the canal in that interval. By contrast the same weeks in 2023 saw 1,457,000 TEU per week, a level more than 90 per cent higher than this month’s average.
The crossing of the 50 per cent mark is noteworthy because it is the first time that weekly container capacity has reached that share of pre-disruption throughput since the start of attacks in the Red Sea. The Clarksons data, as reported on 14 October 2026, supplies the quantitative basis for that judgement.
Limits to interpretation
A single percentage or weekly average cannot capture service adjustments such as altered sailing rotations, vessel sizes deployed on particular strings, or cargo splitting across routes. The Clarksons figures are a clear indicator of increased canal utilisation but they do not alone reveal how operators are managing commercial and operational trade-offs.
The reports item conveyed the data without projecting future levels. The reported improvement is a factual milestone that will be monitored by carriers, shippers and insurers as they assess the resilience of routes through the region.
Even as throughput climbs, stakeholders will watch whether the trend continues and how it translates into schedule reliability and capacity allocation across global liner services. For now, the canal’s traffic remains below the volumes recorded during the same weeks of 2023, even after this recent gain above the 50 per cent mark.
Summary details
- Report: reports, 14 October 2026.
- Data provider: Clarksons Research.
- Metric: weekly container ship capacity transiting Suez Canal.
- First two weeks of October average: 753,000 TEU; same period 2023: 1,457,000 TEU.
- Milestone: transits have exceeded 50 per cent of pre-disruption levels since Houthi attacks began in the Red Sea.
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