Insights

Continued overcapacity on the Transpacific trade, combined with soft import volumes during the first half of March, is putting downward pressure on freight rates through the end of the month.

As noted in our January update, blank sailings have taken center stage during the Lunar New Year, leading to increased rollovers and renewed port congestion—particularly at ports handling transshipment cargo. The spike in canceled sailings is expected to create service reliability issues into early March, until capacity stabilizes with the rollout of new 2026–27 pro forma services.

A brief “calm before the blanks” is expected on the Transpacific as ocean carriers prepare to remove capacity following Lunar New Year, when volumes typically decline during the holiday period. With Lunar New Year falling later February 17th, vessel utilization is expected to remain elevated through January.