A selection of recent industry news, with our reading for Chilean importers and exporters. These notes are editorial context, not a quotation, a rate or a transit-time promise.
Editions
Latest issues
Each edition includes the date, a short account of a verified news item and our take on what it may mean for cargo to and from Chile.
Maersk-operated ship brings down a quay crane at Yantian
Splash247 reported that the 15,516 teu Maersk Cincinnati struck a ship-to-shore crane while berthing at berth 12 of Shenzhen’s Yantian terminal around noon local time on 9 November. Images show the crane collapsed toward the yard. The publication said the extent of the damage, any injuries and any effect on terminal operations had not been confirmed, and that the cause had not been established; strong winds were mentioned as a possible factor. The ship was on an Asia–North Europe voyage and, according to the report, was still alongside the following day.
Yantian is one of South China’s main export gateways, including for cargo that later moves to the west coast of South America. Public reports do not yet say how much berth or yard capacity is affected, or for how long, so a port-wide shutdown should not be assumed.
If you have cargo due to load or connect at Yantian in the coming days, the practical step is to ask the carrier or your forwarder whether the berth, cut-off or on-carrying vessel has changed. Alternative South China gateways exist, but a last-minute switch has documentation and cut-off implications that are better checked before cargo is redirected.
Los Angeles and Long Beach watchmen talks extended to 20 November
Transport Topics, citing Bloomberg and a Pacific Maritime Association statement, reported that PMA and ILWU Local 26 have again extended the contract covering about 250 security watchmen at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, this time through 20 November, with further talks scheduled. There is no strike in effect under this extension. The employers’ association has said that a stoppage at the terminals involved could affect a large share of cargo at Long Beach and a substantial share at Los Angeles. The previous contract expired in July 2025; the union had authorized a strike, and earlier deadlines in early November were also extended.
This is a risk to monitor, not a disruption that has already begun. For cargo to or from the United States, or any routing that transships over Los Angeles or Long Beach, it is sensible to review bookings that would be in motion around 20 November and to agree a fallback — another coast, a later sailing, or air for a truly critical piece — without treating a stoppage as certain.
Chile’s Asia trades do not depend on those ports, but shipments that use the US West Coast as a gateway or a connecting point do. Stay close to carrier advisories through the new deadline rather than changing plans on speculation.
San Antonio truckers end a nine-day blockade of off-dock depots
Independent truckers in San Antonio lifted a blockade of the city’s off-dock container depots on Friday 6 November, after nine days, having reached an agreement with cargo-generating companies. PortalPortuario and Diario Financiero reported an 8% adjustment in transport tariffs and a mechanism to update rates in line with sector costs, including the price of diesel. Diario Financiero wrote that the stoppage, which began on 28 October, left around 2,500 containers accumulated and more than 500 work shifts lost, and that cherry shipments to China had to be altered. PortalPortuario noted that vessels, including a first Cherry Express call, had been diverted from San Antonio to Valparaíso.
When gates reopen after a depot blockade, yards usually need time to work through the boxes that piled up. Importers and exporters using San Antonio should confirm depot appointments, check free time, and ask about detention or demurrage on units held during the stoppage.
Inland trucking quotations issued before 6 November should be reviewed against the new 8% adjustment and the cost-update mechanism. Valparaíso proved a useful alternative during the fruit peak; it remains a contingency to plan with the line and the terminal, not something to improvise at the gate.
Drewry’s World Container Index eases 1% as main east–west rates soften
In its assessment for Thursday 5 November, Drewry said the World Container Index had decreased 1% to US$4,389 per 40 ft container, reflecting lower rates on transpacific and Asia–Europe trades as congestion at Chinese ports improved and demand eased. Shanghai–New York fell 3% to US$9,303 per 40 ft, Shanghai–Los Angeles was unchanged at US$7,539, Shanghai–Rotterdam fell 2% to US$3,615 and Shanghai–Genoa was stable at US$4,166. Drewry also noted fewer blank sailings in the following week and said mid-November freight-all-kinds increases faced uncertainty because effective capacity is still rising.
The WCI is a useful weekly reference, not a quote for a shipment to or from Chile. It is a composite of eight east–west legs; rates between Asia and the west coast of South America can move on a different path.
A modest easing, together with shorter waits reported at Shanghai, points to a slightly less tight spot market on those main trades, while carriers are still attempting mid-November FAK increases. The practical step is to ask for a current offer on your actual origin, destination and cargo type, and to use the index as context when comparing options — not as an assumption that the next shipment will cost less or move faster.
Most Asia–Europe capacity is again moving via the Suez Canal
Drewry’s Red Sea Diversion Tracker, dated 3 November, said that during the week ended 1 November, 53 containerships transited the Suez Canal in either direction, 130% more than in the same week of 2025, and that 60% of Asia–Europe capacity was again using the Suez route, reversing nearly three years of diversions via the Cape of Good Hope. There had been five weeks with more than 50 transits a week, and the average over the latest three weeks was 57 transits. Lloyd’s List, on 2 November, separately reported that Premier Alliance would route additional Asia–Mediterranean services through Suez from November.
A return to Suez shortens the Asia–Europe trunk and releases ships that had been absorbed by the longer Cape routing. It does not automatically shorten Asia–Chile voyages, which normally run across the Pacific.
What can still reach Chile is indirect: changes in global effective capacity, the positioning of empty containers, and adjustments to services that also touch the west coast of South America or that connect Chile with Europe. Where Suez and Cape routings overlap, arrivals can bunch. For planning, watch carrier advisories on space and equipment, and keep Europe–Chile itineraries under review rather than assuming a stable schedule or a lower rate.
News items are summarised in our own words from the linked sources, which should be checked for the full original report. “Our take” is editorial context from Patagonia Log for planning discussions; it is not a personal quotation, a freight offer, or a guarantee of rates, space or transit times.
Market reference
Global industry data
Public container-shipping benchmarks, taken from each publisher’s site. They are not a Patagonia Log quotation, nor a rate, saving or transit-time promise.
Cutoff: 6 November 2026 (current period on the exchange table; previous period 30 October 2026: 3,687.35). Source: Shanghai Shipping Exchange.
Freightos Baltic Index (FBX)
US$3,451.80
per 40 ft container, global composite (daily figure shown as “Current FBX”)
Consulted: 10 November 2026, America/Santiago, on the publisher’s public page (the page does not display a cutoff date; FBX is updated daily). Source: Freightos Baltic Index.
Port congestion
See source
No single official global congestion figure is published as a simple public index.
Drewry’s WCI commentary of 5 November 2026 discusses waiting times at major ports; conditions vary by terminal. Source: Drewry WCI commentary.
Figures may change when the publisher updates its assessment. Always check the original source. They are provided only as industry context and do not represent Patagonia Log’s rates or a guarantee of market conditions.
