Container ships sailing from Asia to North America arrived an average of 6.9 days late in September, 0.8 days later than in August, according to Xeneta’s monthly scorecard. Only 20% arrived on time, unchanged from August.
Gemini had the sharpest decline among the major carrier networks, with its on-time rate falling from 70% in June to 40% in September. Its weekly on-time rate fell to 28% in the week of Oct. 5, though that figure is based on partial data. Xeneta said Gemini “has not found a floor.”
Average delays for all five carriers hit 12-month highs. Across all trade lanes, on-time arrival rates were:
Maersk: 47%, down from 51%
Hapag-Lloyd: 45%, a 12-month low
CMA CGM: 30%, a 12-month low
Cosco: 18%, a 12-month low
Yang Ming: 4%, a 12-month low
Global on-time arrivals fell for a fourth straight month to 27%, matching February’s low. Average delay rose to 6.0 days. On the Far East-Europe trade, ships arrived an average of 9.9 days late, with just 4% arriving on time. That was the lane's worst reliability since September 2021, when 3% of ships arrived on time.
Europe-North America was the most reliable trade, with 49% of ships on time and average delays of 1.9 days.
Xeneta tied the delays to typhoons that hit Asia from July through early September, congestion at Chinese ports, and peak-season demand. Singapore’s average vessel waiting time rose from 1.9 days to 3.1 days, while the queue grew from 12 to 22 vessels a day.
China-US West Coast spot rates averaged $7,717 per FEU in early October, more than four times the $1,778 recorded in September 2025. Long-term contract rates stood at $3,649 on Oct. 1, up 26% in a month.
Carriers have announced blank sailings on 13% of planned Asia-North America capacity for October, up from 8% in September. On the Far East-Europe trade, at least 17% of planned sailings were blanked. Despite the cuts, planned Asia-North America capacity remained the third highest in 22 months.
