International Freight Forwarding News - June 2025

June continued to reflect the aftershocks of May’s regulatory shifts, with the U.S.–China 90-day tariff pause driving a brief surge in volumes that has since begun to ease. Ocean and air spot rates softened sharply, eastbound trans-Pacific container rates fell by as much as 32% to the U.S. West Coast and 11% to the East Coast, while air cargo demand remained resilient, supported by lower jet-fuel costs and modest capacity growth.

Companies leaned further into Foreign-Trade Zones and bonded warehousing to insulate margins, even as forwarders weigh whether this dip marks an early peak-season lull or a more sustained realignment. Regionally, congestion hot spots persisted. North European ports continue to wrestle with full container yards, missed berthing windows, labor actions, and low Rhine water levels, leading to wait times up to three days.

Mexico’s Port of Manzanillo, which saw berth waits near 1.8 days and throughput down around 50%, is still recovering from a May customs strike, prompting shippers to pre-book and explore alternative gateways. On the U.S. domestic front, Cass data showed May freight shipments down 4% year-over-year and flat month-over-month, dry-van spot rates off nearly 3% sequentially, and load-to-truck ratios slipping across van, reefer, and flatbed segments.

• Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman have lifted restrictions; Qatar Airways has resumed Hamad International flights, though delays and rerouting persist amid backlog.
• April cargo-tonne-kilometers (CTK) rose 5.8% YoY and 2.3% MoM; international CTK up 6.5%, led by Latin America (12.5% YoY). Available cargo space (ACTK) grew 6.3% MoM, while load factors dipped 0.2 points.
• Jet-fuel prices slid 21.2% YoY and 4.1% MoM; cargo-revenue rates ticked up 1.7% YoY and MoM.

• Ongoing Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz tensions keep vessels diverting via the Cape of Good Hope.
• Container yards at or near capacity in Northern European ports; ships face multi-day waits due to labor strikes (Belgium, Sweden), low inland-water levels, and schedule mismatches.
• One month post-strike at Mexico's Manzanillo port, berth waits average 1.8 days, throughput is down ~50%, and shippers face delays up to two weeks, spurring early bookings and port alternatives.

• Freight corridors across the Gulf Cooperation Council remain fully operational with no major disruptions.
• Contract TL rates rose 3–4% in recent bids; intermodal rates were flat to slightly down, driving a 4% increase in intermodal mix. Spot truckload pricing has stabilized after capacity exits the spot market.
• Domestic Shipment Trends: May volumes fell 4% YoY (flat MoM); dry-van rates dropped 2.8% sequentially; load-to-truck ratios declined (dry van from 6.1 to 5.5, reefer 9.5 to 9.1, flatbed 29.0 to 25.9).

Escalating hostilities following a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities have sharpened concerns over potential Iranian retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint handling roughly 20% of global oil exports and a significant share of LNG shipments. While Iran lacks the legal authority to seal the strait, threats of missile or mine attacks keep shipping lines on high alert, driving reroutes around the Cape of Good Hope and inducing higher insurance and bunker premiums. Concurrently, Houthi actions in Bab el-Mandeb and security fears in the Red Sea have reduced traffic through the Suez Canal, further underscoring the vulnerability of global energy and supply chains to regional geopolitics.

Stay in the know with our daily updates on the Middle East Crisis Escalations.

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