Record container ship capacity on Asia routes in October and November
Container capacity on Asia routes hit record levels in October and November, driven by vessel pile-ups and port congestion rather than demand.
Container ship capacity on the main East-West trade routes reached historic levels in October and November 2026, according to a Sea-Intelligence report published on 29 October.
The company said weekly capacity on the Asia to US West Coast route is expected to reach 400,000 twenty-foot equivalent units in November, an unprecedented level, after about 393,000 units in October.
Capacity on Asia to North Europe exceeded 350,000 TEU a week in October and November, and Asia to the Mediterranean exceeded 260,000 units, while the Asia to US East Coast route recorded its highest level in October and November compared with previous years.
Sea-Intelligence attributed the increase to vessel pile-ups caused by Asian port congestion and delayed schedules, not to higher demand. The company's chief executive, Alan Murphy, warned that bottlenecks could spread to main routes and cause new delays.
What do these terms mean?
Twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU): A common shipping unit equal to a container 20 feet long, used to compare the size of ships and ports.
Vessel pile-up: The accumulation of ships near ports or their delayed departure because of bottlenecks, which raises apparent capacity on routes.
Cargo capacity: The total tonnage available on ships to carry containers, whose rise or fall affects freight rates.
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