Rates on the China–Durban lane did not ease after the October holiday. Extreme weather and capacity being pulled onto other trades pushed them up instead. Within half a month CMA CGM reset its peak season surcharge on this lane three times, the last reset taking South China to USD 1,050 per TEU and North and Central China to USD 1,150 per TEU. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd followed, while Durban itself remains stuck between ageing equipment and storm damage.
1. Three PSS resets in half a month, then the other carriers follow
CMA CGM: base rate, then USD 750, then 1,050 / 1,150
CMA CGM moved this lane three times in half a month, and each notice superseded the one before it:
- In early October, a base peak season surcharge (PSS) was introduced on the lane.
- Only four days later, a new notice took the PSS straight to USD 750 per TEU.
- Another four days later, an urgent update overturned both earlier versions: PSS from South China rose to USD 1,050 per TEU, and from North and Central China to USD 1,150 per TEU.
Cargo that missed the early-October sailings now carries more than double the peak season surcharge alone by the end of the month.
Maersk: full coverage across East and South China, then a higher CFD in November
Per Maersk's advisory, from 15 October 2026 a PSS applies or is adjusted on all dry containers moving from the Far East – including mainland China, Hong Kong China, Taiwan China, Singapore and Malaysia, among others – to South Africa and Mauritius:
- All 20ft dry: USD 250 per container.
- All 40ft dry: USD 500 per container.
As delays at Durban worsened, Maersk also moved on the destination side. From November the congestion fee destination (CFD) rises to USD 450 per 20ft and USD 900 per 40ft high cube. It is charged at destination, so cargo arriving in November pays the new level.
Hapag-Lloyd: congestion and heavy weight
Hapag-Lloyd has applied a congestion surcharge of USD 300/600, and separately a heavy lift surcharge (HLC) of USD 200 on containers above 20 tonnes gross weight.
Every charge above is a carrier surcharge billed on top of base ocean freight. Bunker-related surcharges, THC at both ends and security charges are billed separately by all three carriers.
2. What is happening at Durban
Storm damage on top of ageing equipment, Pier 2 worst hit
Durban is the hub port for the African trade. Its core container terminal, Pier 2, has been the Durban Gateway Terminal since January 2026 under an ICTSI and Transnet partnership, and handles about 46% of South Africa's container traffic. It has been congested since switching to the Navis N4 system in mid-August, with volumes falling about 30% below the prior four-month average. The terminal, Pier 2, already carried the structural problems of ageing equipment and a difficult migration to the Navis N4 operating system. Severe storms in early October then removed 159 operating hours across the port, bringing an already fragile supply chain to a standstill.
More than 20 container vessels are now queued at anchorage. Average inbound delay for container vessels has stretched to 18 days, and above 20 days on some services. To recover schedule, carriers including Maersk and CMA CGM have started omitting Port Louis, Mauritius on the Safari service.
| Terminal | Role | Status and what it means for your cargo |
|---|---|---|
| DCT Pier 2 | The core container terminal | Worst affected. Six deep-water berths for foreign trade containers. Hit by both the storms and ageing equipment, with the inbound queue averaging 10–16 days and the worst cases above 18 days. |
| DCT Pier 1 | Secondary container terminal | Light delays. Around 700,000 TEU a year, used mainly by certain China–Africa services and regional feeders. Some relief compared with Pier 2. |
| Maydon Wharf | Breakbulk and niche bulk: salt, fertiliser, grain, timber | Normal. On the west side of the inner harbour. Not a berth for deep-sea container vessels. |
| Point MPT | Multi-purpose: non-containerised steel, out-of-gauge, project cargo | Slower. Close to the harbour entrance. Efficiency affected by port-wide congestion. |
Volume growth and capacity pulled elsewhere
The underlying logic is a supply and demand imbalance. Chinese exports to South Africa rose 29% year on year in the first eight months of the year, and year-end Christmas restocking arrived on top of it.
At the same time, the situation in the Middle East has drawn capacity away from African services to support the main Europe and US trades routing around the Cape of Good Hope, and the Ningbo Containerized Freight Index South Africa route has risen about 119%, from 1,627.88 on 13 March to 3,566.61 on 16 October. The combination came to a head on the South Africa lane in October.
3. What to check before you book
- Build the surcharges into the quote. Every charge above sits on top of ocean freight. Quote freight alone and the consignee finds the difference on the invoice.
- South China and North/Central China are not the same rate. CMA CGM's two levels differ by USD 100 per TEU – confirm the origin before you price.
- 20ft and 40ft are not the same rate. Maersk's PSS is USD 250/500 and its CFD is USD 450/900. Match the charge to the equipment.
- Destination charges follow the arrival month. The CFD moves to its new level in November, so cargo sailing in October and arriving in November is priced at the new level.
- Declare gross weight accurately at booking. Containers above 20 tonnes pick up Hapag-Lloyd's USD 200 HLC. Re-declaring weight afterwards is how that charge appears as a surprise.
- Build transit time around 18 days of delay. With average inbound delay at Durban at 18 days and above 20 days on some services, a commitment based on the published schedule will not hold.
- Get the surcharge stack in writing before you quote. Amount and effective period, not a verbal assurance.
Surcharge amounts, effective dates and port data are quoted as published in the carrier advisories and port reporting, without unit conversion or adjustment. All are surcharges billed separately from ocean freight, and exclude contract base rates. Carriers revise surcharges frequently – confirm the levels current at the time of booking with the carrier or your forwarder.