Ship traffic remains thin through the Strait of Hormuz as negotiations between the United States and Iran continue, but US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the ceasefire has ended.
Hostilities were renewed on Thursday after the two countries earlier signed a memorandum of understanding and entered into a ceasefire.
According to the Strait of Hormuz Tracker, a free, real-time dashboard tracking the ongoing crisis using AI-powered analysis of current Strait conditions, insurance markets and diplomatic developments using real-time web and Automatic Identification System data for ship positions, 34 ships have transited the Strait in the past 24 hours.
Traffic was at an average of 40-50/day during the ceasefire and was about 150/day before the war.
The closure had a major impact on the crude oil and chemicals markets, through which about a third of global seaborne crude oil flows and up to 20% of the world’s total oil flows pass.
The closure had a smaller impact on container shipping, with less than 2% of global container capacity passing through the strait each year, but contributed to higher rates mostly due to higher bunker fuel prices.
Container prices
Shipping container shipping rates from East Asia and China to the United States continued to rise this week, albeit at a slightly slower pace.
Spot rates to the West Coast were seen as high as $7,400/FEU (40-foot equivalent unit) and as high as nearly $9,000/FEU to the East Coast.
While uncertainty remains surrounding the situation in the Middle East, the main driver of higher container prices is early peak season demand as importers try to get ahead of expected tariffs.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) began hearings this week as part of the process required to roll out new Section 301 tariffs before the Section 122 tariffs expire on July 24.
The upcoming tariff deadline is likely to be one of the drivers of front-loading and an early start to the peak season across the Pacific, said Judah Levin, head of research at online shipping market and platform provider Freightos.
Levin said the current supply/demand situation has led to the successful implementation of the July 1 general rate increases (GRIs) and peak season surcharges (PSSs) across key east-west corridors, contributing to a total increase of more than $3,000/FEU in trans-Pacific trade since the end of May.
“Carriers are adding capacity to the Pacific region to serve the rush of demand, but some freight forwarders believe front-load-driven demand may already be at its peak,” Levin said. “The easing of demand, coupled with capacity additions, may mean that the large mid-month rate increases planned by some carriers may not continue, and rates may begin to decline later in the month.”
Rates remain at “extraordinary levels and shippers are still paying multiples of what they expected to pay at the beginning of the year,” said Peter Sand, senior analyst at ocean rates, shipping and analytics firm Xeneta.
Only three empty sailings on the trans-Pacific trade route have been announced for next week, reflecting limited capacity, supply chain consultants Drury said.
“A few carriers have announced GRIs in the range of $2,000-3,000 per FEU on the Trans-Pacific trade route, as of July 15,” Drury said, adding that they expect rates to remain high in the coming weeks.
Rates on the New York Stock Exchange Freight Index (NYFI) jumped 9.9% to the West Coast and nearly 8.5% to the East Coast, while prices on the Shanghai Container Freight Index (SCFI), which tracks container prices leaving Shanghai, fell 2.7% after rising in each of the previous 10 weeks.
Container ships and shipping container costs are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers.
They also transport liquid chemicals in isotonic tanks.
Tanker prices
US chemical tanker freight rates assessed by ICIS were steady lower this week with rates continuing to face downward pressure on several trade lanes.
There is downward pressure on prices along the USG-ARA trade route as tenants remain in a wait-and-see mode. Besides contract shipments, there is very little on the market. Tariffs and looming uncertainty continue to weaken the spot market, putting pressure on prices.
Overall, the market has slowed down significantly as demand for any additional product in the region has ground to a halt. However, a handful of caustic soda, styrene and ethanol were seen for sale in the market.
On the other hand, interest rates from the United States to Asia and all other trade corridors have remained largely flat. The previous surge in activity, triggered by the recent ceasefire in the conflict in the Middle East, appears to have stalled after hostilities escalated during the week, and the market to Asia also declined. As a result, this route remained quiet this week, putting downward pressure on freight rates.
There were only a few repaired shipments, as a few outsiders arrived at the dock and were working to fill the space, creating more competition for regular owners. Methanol and caustic soda are the most common on the market.
The US-Brazil trade path remains unusually calm, so interest rates face downward pressure. Although express space availability seems somewhat limited, there are plenty of spaces open for mid-July through August.
The USG route to India has seen an uptick in inquiries over the past week with no dates confirmed. There were only a few new inquiries for monoethylene glycol (MEG) seen on the August dates. Along with other regions, shipping rates are widely seen as lower.
Source: ICIS By Adam Iannelli, https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2026/07/10/11223581/hormuz-transits-remain-subdued-asia-us-container-rates-rise-tanker-rates-steady-to-softer/
