Mediterranean Shipping (MSC) raises prices twice within half a month
At the end of 2025, during the global ocean freight market price adjustment wave, Mediterranean Shipping (MSC) launched an intensive price increase action, announcing two official increases in freight rates for core routes such as Far East to Northern Europe, Mediterranean, and Black Sea within half a month, with a cumulative increase of $400 per container, triggering widespread attention from the industry to the price trend of European routes.
According to two tariff adjustment announcements released by MSC, the first round of price increases will officially take effect on December 1, 2025, covering all European related routes from the Far East to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea. Among them, the freight rate for 20 foot containers on the Nordic route has been raised to $1860 per TEU, and for 40 foot containers, it has increased to $3100 per FEU; Due to high regional logistics costs, the freight rates for 20 foot and 40 foot containers on the Black Sea route have been raised to $2850 and $3900 respectively, which is about 8% higher than the previous market average price.
Only 8 days later, MSC once again increased its price increase plan on November 29th, announcing that starting from December 15th, it will further raise the FAK (uniform rate for all goods) freight for the Far East to Nordic and Mediterranean routes, with an additional increase of $400 per TEU. After this price adjustment, the 20 foot container freight rate from Far East to Western Mediterranean basic ports will reach $3375 per TEU, with a cumulative increase of over 14% from the two rounds of price increases, setting a record for a significant increase in a single price adjustment cycle for this route this year.
Behind this intensive price increase is the concentrated transmission of multiple pressures in the global maritime supply chain. On the one hand, the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea has forced some shipping routes to detour around the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in longer voyages by more than 10 days and a significant decrease in ship turnover, which has greatly squeezed the global effective transportation capacity; On the other hand, the Panama Canal has been affected by continuous drought, with water levels dropping to historic lows and the daily number of ships passing through decreasing from 40 to 25, further exacerbating the tight transportation situation on the Asia Europe route. At the same time, in May 2025, the Mediterranean officially became an Emission Control Area (ECA), requiring ships to use low sulfur fuels or install emission reduction equipment. The increase in environmental compliance costs has also become an important driving force for shipping companies to raise prices.
From the perspective of market demand, the combination of year-end contract fulfillment in Europe and pre Spring Festival stocking demand has provided some support for the increase in freight rates. According to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, on November 28th, the market freight rate for exports from Shanghai Port to Mediterranean basic ports has reached $2232/TEU, an increase of 8.6% from the beginning of the month. However, industry insiders also pointed out that the overall booking volume of European routes is relatively moderate, and the expected resumption of the Suez Canal may lead to overcapacity in the future. Whether MSC's continuous price increases can be fully implemented still needs to be tested by the market.
Driven by MSC's price increase, leading shipping companies such as Dafei and Hapag Lloyd have followed suit by raising freight rates for the Far East to Europe route. The quoted prices for 20 foot containers in the Western Mediterranean have reached $2850 and $2700 respectively, indicating a preliminary upward trend in the shipping market. The A-share port shipping sector also responded synchronously, with the main contract EC2602 of the consolidation index (European line) closing up 3.02% on December 1st, and related concept stocks collectively strengthening.