New Zealand
AIR TERMINALS
- Air NZ and Menzies are currently operational with no major disruptions reported.
INTERNATIONAL COURIER
- Peak Season has officially commenced. Cargo volumes have begun to increase and are expected to continue rising steadily through to the Christmas period.
- From 22 September to 19 October, Peak Season surcharges will be subject to review and adjustment in response to volume demands and associated cost pressures. The revised surcharges will be formally published on 20 October.
LANDSIDE & CUSTOMS
- KiwiRail Block of Line Between Hamilton and Auckland 20th September to 4th October. Road Bridging will be in place to keep Metroport serviced. Auckland Port to Wiri Inland port will be operational as normal.
- Port of Lyttelton VBS increase effective 1st October.
- BMSB Seasonal Measures will apply to targeted goods manufactured in, or shipped from, target risk countries (shipped between 1st September 2025 to the 30th April 2026 inclusive).
Australia
LANDSIDE & CUSTOMS
- 20’ containers are still in short supply across Australia. Please speak with your Customer Services Representative for options.
- Reefer (Refrigerated) container stock is becoming low in Australia. Carriers are now looking to reposition Reefer containers back into Australia to meet the export demand for the upcoming summer months. They are offering reduced rates and priority shipping for Non-Refrigerated containers (NOR’s). Please speak to your Customer Service Rep for pricing options and if your cargo is suitable.
- BMSB Seasonal Measures will apply to targeted goods manufactured in, or shipped from, target risk countries (shipped between 1st September 2025 to the 30th April 2026 inclusive). Whilst the majority of the rules from previous seasons apply, there are a few additions:
– The Republic of Korea and Japan have been added to the emerging risk countries list
– Target high risk goods arriving as Airfreight from the USA and China will be subject to random inspections
– Addition of Ethyl Formate as a new form of offshore BMSB treatment
Please refer to www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/import/before/brown-marmorated-stink-bugs for more details on the 2025-2026 BMSB season. We recommend cargo is treated at origin (offshore) prior to importing into Australia. Please speak to your Customer Services Representative for options.
- Australia Post has announced it will resume it’s postal delivery services to the United States & overseas territories on or before the 25th September 2025.
- With China’s Golden Week fast approaching (1st October-8th October), please plan ahead with your China based teams and suppliers for any time-sensitive orders, including requesting any documents required for customs clearance and biosecurity purposes in the lead up to the holiday.
- Upcoming public holidays in Australia:
Friday 23rd September – Victoria (Friday before the AFL Grand Final)
Monday 29th September – WA (King’s Birthday)
Monday 6th October – NSW, QLD, SA, ACT (King’s Birthday)
Monday 29th September – WA (King’s Birthday)
Monday 6th October – NSW, QLD, SA, ACT (King’s Birthday)
Asia
AIR
IMPORT
- Capacity issues persist from many origins due to reduced services of the Airlines, ocean delays and the conversion of shipments to air transport, particularly from China, Singapore and South Korea.
- Rates remain volatile across key trade lanes due to high demand and limited space availability.
EXPORT
- Consols are operating on schedule with generally good carrier capacity.
OCEAN
IMPORT
- We are yet to see many major challenges arranging trucking in China in the lead up to Golden Week (we usually see truck shortages from about 2 – 3 weeks out). This may still become an issue the closer we get however, given that other markets (like Asia to Europe) have declining volumes, we may not see challenges at all.
- Congestion at the main South-East Asian transship ports seems to have mostly eased, with delays not expected to be more than a week.
- There seems to be an increased level of Commodity Inspections occurring on LCL containers across all of China. Where this does occur, we will endeavour to limit delays and additional cost as much as possible.
EXPORT
- Some Carriers are experiencing transhipment delays in Singapore of 2-3 weeks.
- Space is starting ease as we near the end of peak export season for this region. We do however recommend booking at least 3 weeks in advance of the required shipping date if possible.
Trans-Tasman
AIR
IMPORT
- Consols are generally moving as booked with capacity available on most carriers.
EXPORT
- Consols are moving as booked and capacity remains available on most routes.
OCEAN
- Cosco & OOCL have announced that their dedicated Trans-Tasman service will add a direct call at Wellington from the start of September.
IMPORT
- 20’ containers are still in short supply across Australia. Please speak with your Customer Services Representative for options.
EXPORT
- All NZ export services have immediate availability.
Europe
AIR
IMPORT
- While most consols are moving as scheduled, there are minor to moderate delays expected (1–3 days), often due to routing adjustments and operational bottlenecks.
- Strong demand and limited capacity into Auckland are driving rate volatility and ongoing space constraints.
EXPORT
- Capacity via Asia and Middle Eastern airlines remains generally stable. However, space into London is currently very limited, with most airlines experiencing delays and backlogs.
OCEAN
- Red Sea is still at risk of attacks by Houthi rebels. Maersk and CMA have not announced any return to the Suez Canal for NZ services, and continue to sail around the Cape of Good Hope.
IMPORT
- BMSB season has started again on September 1st 2025 and will run to April 30th 2026. Procedures are mostly the same as last season.
- Space is tight on some services as summer holidays finish and factories re-open with urgent orders to get out.
- We have seen increased customs inspections from European ports particularly on cargo with any military connection.
- Maersk Vessels via Panama now transit the USA and require AMS filing.
- Vessels are off window arriving into Europe from the Cape of Good Hope. On time arrivals are as low as 21%. This is causing the weekly schedules to be disrupted.
- 20’ reefers are in low supply across Europe.
EXPORT
- Reefer space and equipment is more available.
- Vessels are heavily booked; bookings need to be made 3 weeks in advance.
- European ports are congested, Southampton is at 90-95% capacity.
- Recent storms in Northern Europe has caused disruption and delays.
North America
AIR
IMPORT
- Consols are moving as booked with good capacity across most carriers.
- Rates have remained stable throughout Sept; with no fluctuations at this stage.
- United Airlines will resume daily flights to and from Auckland from 27 October 2025 and will also begin operating three flights per week between Christchurch and the U.S. from 5 December 2025.
- Delta Airlines is scheduled to return to Auckland services on 9 October 2025.
- American Airlines will restart flights to and from Auckland on 28 October 2025.
- Hawaiian Airlines is set to resume Auckland services on 18 November 2025.
- Air Canada will return with flights to and from Auckland starting 30 November 2025.
EXPORT
- Space remains limited on certain sectors during the New Zealand winter period due to reduced services and capacity.
- United Airlines will resume daily flights to and from Auckland from 27 October 2025 and will also begin operating three flights per week between Christchurch and the U.S. from 5 December 2025.
- Delta Airlines is scheduled to return to Auckland services on 9 October 2025.
- American Airlines will restart flights to and from Auckland on 28 October 2025.
- Hawaiian Airlines is set to resume Auckland services on 18 November 2025.
- Air Canada will return with flights to and from Auckland starting 30 November 2025.
OCEAN
- MSC have announced that they will launch a standalone Eagle Service from Australia / New Zealand to / from USA East Coast commencing February 2026.
MSC will deploy 11 vessels on this weekly rotation. This new service will also provide connections through Panama to / from Europe, Central and South America, as well as USA Gulf Ports.
At this stage, the service rotation will call at the following ports, however this could be amended prior to the start date in early 2026:
Philadelphia – Savannah – Freeport – Rodman – Papeete – Auckland – Sydney – Melbourne – Brisbane – Tauranga
– Cristobal – Philadelphia
Philadelphia – Savannah – Freeport – Rodman – Papeete – Auckland – Sydney – Melbourne – Brisbane – Tauranga
– Cristobal – Philadelphia
- Vancouver – no berthing delays. Import rail dwell average has reduced to 2.3 days.
- Panama Canal services for ANP/OC1 service – Space is starting to free up, we still encourage that bookings are placed in 2+ weeks in advance of departure.
- US Terminal Operations:
New York – berthing is delayed by 6 hours. Import rail dwell time is 0.5 days.
Norfolk – berthing delays of up to 18 hours, import dwell time is 3.6 days.
Charleston – small berthing delay of 6 hours, import dwell time is 6.7 days.
Savannah – average wait time for a berth has increased to 3 days, Import dwell time is 7.9 days, rail dwell time is
1.0 day.
1.0 day.
Houston – waiting time of 3 hours for a berth. Import dwell time is 3.6 days.
Oakland – no berthing delays, however 4 cranes are out of service. Average import delivery timeframe is running
at 4 days.
at 4 days.
Seattle – no berthing delays. Rail import dwell time remains at 3 days.
Long Beach – Congestion on port has not improved with delays of 4-8 days.
IMPORT
- USCBP (US Customs and Border Protection) holds seem to be increasing and the time taken to get the inspections completed is also increasing. Unfortunately the delays and additional costs are unable to be avoided.
- Space on most carriers seems to be relatively widely available, though others like ANL are quite heavily committed to produce exports from the West Coast, so are still struggling with space.
EXPORT
- West Coast North America – the direct service to West Coast of the US & Canada is seeing a drop off in demand, the Vancouver calling vessels remain at capacity.
- Reefer equipment is starting to free up, space is scarce Vancouver calling vessels on the West Coast.
