Nearly 100 Sailings Canceled! Blank Sailings Surge! Asia-Europe/Trans-Pacific Routes Hit Hardest
Publish Time: 2025-10-29 Origin: Site
The core east-west shipping lanes are currently undergoing a new round of capacity restructuring.
According to statistics, during the five-week monitoring period from October 27 to November 30, major global liner companies canceled 58 out of 716 scheduled sailings, with a cancellation rate of 8%. Among them, the Asia-Europe/Mediterranean routes (accounting for 43% of cancellations) and the eastbound Trans-Pacific routes (accounting for 40%) were the hardest hit by sailing cuts. However, 92% of weekly services still operated normally.
From a monthly perspective, the number of global blank sailings jumped to 93 in October, a significant increase from 58 in September, leading to a roughly 7% month-on-month decline in effective capacity that month. Nevertheless, the market supply-demand pattern is expected to turn around in November: capacity supply is projected to see a recovery growth of 8%, while the number of blank sailings may drop to 53 in the same period.
Against the backdrop of intertwined variables, container freight rates show structural differentiation.
As of October 23, Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) rose 3% weekly to $1,746/FEU. By route, Trans-Pacific route rates increased by 5%, Asia-Europe/Mediterranean routes rose by 3%, while Trans-Atlantic routes saw a 4% correction.
The current market faces compound challenges: fluctuations in port fees, adjustments to trade policies, ongoing geopolitical conflicts, unresolved congestion at major European ports, and uncertainties over navigation in the Red Sea route. Together, these factors constitute sources of downward pressure on the market. Notably, developments in the Red Sea situation may trigger a chain reaction in the global shipping network.