Shanghai-New York Spot Hits 10,948, 952 Short of the Record
Shanghai-New York Spot Hits 10,948, 952 Short of the Record
Executive Summary
Shanghai-New York spot is at 10,948 USD/FEU. Fuel is doing the pushing, not cargo volume.
| 7% |
| 0.7% |
| 3.01% |
| 0.95% |
| 65.9% |
| 83 points |
Overview
Here's the thing. Xeneta put Shanghai-New York spot at 10,948 USD/FEU on 2026-09-19, more than triple where it stood when the Iran conflict started on 2026-02-28. Drewry's WCI reads the same lane at 10,394 USD/FEU for the week of 2026-09-17, up 7% week on week. Two houses, two methods, same direction. The record is still 11,900 USD/FEU from January 2022, so the gap is 952 dollars.
Not demand.
Fuel is doing the pushing.
Meanwhile the SCFI print for 2026-09-18 came in at 3,687.83 points, up 0.7% and an eighth straight weekly gain. US West Coast reached 7,560 USD/FEU, up 3.01%. US East Coast reached 10,579 USD/FEU, up 0.95%. Europe went the other way at 2,425 USD/TEU and the Mediterranean at 3,125 USD/TEU. One lane up, one lane down. You have to quote them separately.
Key Details
Put simply, the cost side moved, not the booking side. Ship & Bunker put the average very low sulphur fuel oil price across 20 major bunkering ports at 901.50 USD/ton on 2026-09-17. On 2026-02-27 it was 543.50 USD/ton. It peaked at 1,053 USD/ton on 2026-03-20. From 543.50 to 901.50 is a rise of 65.9% in a bit over six months.
Carriers do not absorb that.
They pass it on. Watch out for the bunker adjustment line on your next rate increase letter. Brent has moved past 100 USD a barrel, and the Hormuz situation is not resolved, so the adjustment is not going to shrink on its own.
The catch is that you are the one holding the all-in price.
Looking Ahead
First, do not lock US East Coast on a fixed rate for a month. Fuel is the variable right now, so either write the bunker clause into your quote or keep the validity to 7 to 10 days. Short locks beat long locks this month. Second, do not wait for a cheaper slot before Golden Week. Big shippers are pulling cargo forward before Chinese factories shut in early October, and space is tight. Evergreen and Wan Hai asked for 300 to 400 dollars more on US West Coast on 2026-09-15, and Yang Ming asked for 650 dollars.
Third, stop quoting Europe like it is the US lane. Europe is at 2,425 USD/TEU and still sliding. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd moved the AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2 Gemini services back from the Cape of Good Hope to Suez on 2026-09-14. More sailings back through Suez means more effective capacity. If you are waiting for a European rebound, you are probably waiting until November.
Bottom line. Lock short, not long.
Quote the two lanes apart.
Market Outlook
Our read: the fuel-driven leg of this rally has further to run while Brent stays above 100 USD, so short-validity quotes are the safer structure for September. The Europe lane is a separate story and likely stays soft into November.JETWAY Supply Chain is your execution partner on the ground in China — based in Tianjin, licensed as an NVOCC (MOT) and a member of CIFA, FIATA and WCA. We handle special cargo and compliance (dangerous goods, chemicals, batteries) across ocean, air, rail and road, and we pre-check your documents before the box is stuffed so your filing clears the first time. Send us your next booking and we will run the checks above against your sailing date. Request a quote.