December 02 2025 Customer Advisory Notice

NZ Local Update

Lyttelton Port is facing ongoing operational capacity restrictions on their container terminal causing limits on container exchanges per vessel window. Lyttelton Port has communicated they expect this to be a temporary situation while they move towards a new leadership arrangement at the container terminal. The flow on effect from these delays and restrictions has seen multiple port omissions and last-minute schedule changes. We have also seen international shipping lines cut their coastal services to prioritise the uplift of international export containers and offloading of import containers as a priority with restricted lifts per vessel. We have received notice from Maersk of the introduction of a USD 200 per container port congestion fee for Lyttelton containers.

From 1st December the contractual provider for rail services between Auckland Metroport and Port of Tauranga will change from Port of Tauranga to being directly operated by Kiwirail. We remain confident the integrity of the rail solution will remain with no further impact to operations however shipping lines are still working through any impact on charges.

The New Zealand Customs Service has advised that, from 1st April 2026, existing Customs and MPI goods fees will be replaced by levies. These changes aim to ensure fairer cost recovery and better reflect the true cost of border management.

FreightWorks has evaluated the FAF being charged to us by our carriers as of the 1st to 31st December 2025 and FAF rate will remain at 16%. This will be re-evaluated monthly.

Asia Market Update

We have started to see rates on short term contracts ex North Asia begin to stabilise and reduce again from October peaks as bookings begin to tail off with Christmas / New Year holiday period arrivals. Shipping lines will monitor bookings with an expected increase in the lead up to Chinese New Year closures mid-February 2026.

Southeast Asia rates continue to remain reasonably steady with some lines having small decreases due to vessel capacity remaining full largely owing to high volumes of tranship cargo moving through Singapore and Malaysia.

Europe Market Update

We have received notice from our partners in Germany advising trucking capacity in the German market between 15th December – 9th January 2026 will be severely limited due to the holiday season.

Space for Northbound export cargo is still tight with second leg vessels from Asia tranship ports to Europe heavily booked due to a mix of blank sailings and Asia to Europe Peak Season volumes.

Tranship ports in Singapore and Malaysia are reporting an increase in congestion with multiple missed connections on North and Southbound cargo leading to delays and the rerouting of cargo to avoid affected ports.

The recently announced ceasefire in the Middle East has raised questions about the possibility of a return to normal transit through the Red Sea corridor and the Suez Canal. However, due to ongoing risks shipping lines continue to avoid the Red Sea area and divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope with advertised schedules continuing to be disrupted with vessels arriving off window due to delays.

USA / Canada Market Update

MSC has advised they will introduce their own exclusive Eagle service between New Zealand, Australia and the USA East Coast commencing in February 2026. This service will consist of 11 vessels on below weekly rotation

Philadelphia – Savannah – Freeport – Rodman – Papeete – Auckland – Sydney – Melbourne – Brisbane – Wellington – Tauranga – Rodman – Cristobal – Philadelphia

Australia Update

With the upcoming official opening of the upgraded West Gate Tunnel and West Gate Freeway (M1) infrastructure in December, container transport operators are expecting significantly higher road transport costs due to the new heavy vehicle tolls on the M1 corridor west of Melbourne. The Victorian Government intends to increase tolls for heavy vehicles on the M1 while also enforcing No Truck Zones across several inner west Melbourne roads funnelling freight traffic onto the tolled M1 and key North-South arterials. CTAA modelling indicates container transport costs could rise by 13% to 30%, depending on customer location, route restrictions, and operational variables.