​Maritimedata.ai is a single source of access to 200+ data services.

200+ Products

60+ Maritime Intelligence Providers

30+ Years of Experience

​Explore our catalogue​

Insights 📈

Oil & Gas 🛢️

• Clean Barrels (Link)
• A Fools Game? (Link)
• India crude imports set to remain elevated in January (Link)

Dry 🚢

• Iron Ore prices declined for a fifth consecutive session (Link)
• Agricultural Freight Overview (Link)
• Indonesia Cuts Coal Production Quotas (Link)

Other 🌎

• Takeaways from the 2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy for Maritime Leaders (Link)
• Rubio outlines US plan to revive oil trade in Venezuela’s ‘gangsters’ paradise’ (Link)
• Container Port Congestion - Jan 26 (Link)

​

Market News: Signal Ocean Announces Strategic Acquisition of AXSMarine​

Signal Ocean announces the strategic acquisition of AXSMarine, a recognized leader in the maritime freight and commodities tracking space. The move reflects Signal's commitment to advancing technology, innovation, and collaboration across the global shipping ecosystem.

The combined product portfolio extends beyond the primary offerings to also include AXSMarine affiliate Next Voyage Maritime Pte. and Signal Ocean affiliate Shiplex S.A., who develop voyage and ship management ERP solutions. Together, the group now supports a community of more than 1,500 clients.

Global Containership Insights: January 2026 - MDS Transmodal​

Global scheduled container capacity reached 21.37 million TEU in January 2026, up 0.3% month-on-month and 7.0% year-on-year. Growth was driven by the intra-Far East trade corridor, which accounted for 22.4% of total capacity, supported by vessel deliveries and redeployments.

Although Suez transits have remained largely limited to ad-hoc sailings, the Ocean Alliance has signalled a shift by reinstating two Far East–North Europe/Mediterranean services via the Canal from January 2026.

Snapshot:

• Global fleet capacity: 31.9m TEU
• Global scheduled capacity: 21.4m TEU
• Fleet on order: 10.3m TEU

Major shipping lines: Top trade corridors

Monthly scheduled capacity continues to be shaped by a small number of major corridors.

Capacity rose sharply on Europe & Mediterranean – Gulf & ISC – Far East, while Europe & Mediterranean – Far East recorded a –9.7% month-on-month decline. Overall deployment continues to increase steadily, reflecting ongoing redeployment decisions by the main liner operators.

The largest year-on-year increase in both the Intra-Asia and Intra-Europe & Mediterranean trades has come from Maersk, reflecting an expanded service offering linked to its involvement in the Gemini Cooperation alongside Hapag-Lloyd, launched in April 2025.

CMA-CGM and MSC recorded the most rapid year-on-year growth on the Gulf & ISC – Far East trade lane. This was driven by the deployment of larger vessels on selected services. For example, MSC’s Clanga service saw its average ship size increase from 4,400 TEU to 13,500 TEU year-on-year.

Why the “No Chinese New Year Rush” Narrative Doesn’t Match Shipping Data - Vizion​

n recent weeks, a growing number of shipping and logistics headlines have converged on the same conclusion: that the pre–Chinese New Year (CNY) cargo rush has already passed, or worse, failed to materialize altogether.

Commentary has pointed to falling spot rates, failed general rate increases (GRIs), and increased blank sailings as evidence of weak demand heading into 2026. Some have gone as far as to suggest that the traditional seasonal surge is already “exhausted.”

But when you look beyond spot pricing and focus on actual booking activity, the story looks very different.

Using forward-looking booking data from Vizion’s TradeView platform, early 2026 activity points not to a missing surge, but to a delayed one, driven by calendar timing, capacity dynamics, and how seasonal signals are being interpreted.

Why the Headlines Are Telling a Different Story

In recent weeks, several industry publications have pointed to falling spot rates, failed general rate increases (GRIs), and rising blank sailings as evidence that the pre–Chinese New Year rush has already passed or failed to materialize altogether. Recent industry commentary, including Drewry’s World Container Index weekly update, has characterized spot rate declines and increased blank sailings as signs of demand waning ahead of Chinese New Year. 1UP Cargo recently reported that container shipping rates have “pulled back after an early-year spike,” attributing the softness to weak demand despite approaching factory shutdowns. Coverage syndicated on gCaptain likewise described the unraveling of January’s rate rally as evidence of deteriorating market fundamentals and weakening demand.

These indicators are useful for understanding carrier pricing pressure, but they are not direct measures of physical cargo demand.

What Booking Data Is Actually Showing

Early January booking data already contradicts claims that demand has collapsed:

1. Week 2–Week 3 China export bookings averaged ~802K TEUs
2. That represents an 18.8% increase versus the same period in 2025
3. Week 3 reached ~827K TEUs, the highest Week 3 volume in the past seven years

Rather than signalling exhaustion, these figures point to early-stage momentum, the phase where booking activity typically begins to build ahead of factory shutdowns.

Week 1-3 Chinese export bookings (2018-2026)

The Critical Variable: Chinese New Year Timing

One of the most important and most overlooked factors in this year’s analysis is timing.

Chinese New Year falls on February 17, 2026 (Week 8), making it the latest CNY in seven years. Factory shutdowns are expected to span early February through mid-March, pushing the traditional disruption window later than many analysts are accounting for.

Historically, the strongest booking surges occur two to three weeks before CNY, which in 2026 corresponds to Weeks 6–7 (February 3–14), a window for which data is not yet fully available.

This makes claims that the rush has already “finished” premature.

Global Trade is Moving On — Without the U.S - Trade Data Monitor​

One way of looking at China’s trade economy in December and for the full 2025 year is its export surge, amplified by a weak currency, deflation at home, and inflation in most of the rest of the world. China pumped up total monthly exports 6.6% to $357.8 billion in December from $335.6 billion over the same period in 2024.

Here’s another angle: Washington’s efforts to crimp Beijing’s industrial sector have resulted in diminished U.S.-China trade, but even bigger Chinese surpluses with the rest of the world, and evolutions in global trade that are simply leaving America behind. For the full year, China exported $3.8 trillion worth of goods. Minus imports, that made for a total surplus of $1.19 trillion, the biggest in recorded economic history.

Chinese officials themselves have drawn direct links between U.S. policy and its surplus, saying in effect that without tariffs, Beijing would have bought more goods from the rest of the world. “Some countries have politicised economic and trade issues and restricted exports of high-tech products to China for various reasons; otherwise, we would have imported even more,” Wang Jun, a Chinese trade official, told reporters Wednesday.

According to the Petersen Institute for international economics, U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports average around 47%, while China’s average tariffs on US exports are around 32%.

The Chinese export juggernaut needs markets like nature abhors a vacuum, and it’s found new landing places for its voluminous container ships. Exports to the European Union increased 11.5% in December to $51.9 billion. Exports to Germany increased 13% to $11 billion. By comparison, exports to the U.S. fell 30.2% to $34.2 billon. We are seeing the wheels of human economic history turn in real time. Global trade is still inching upward every year. The rest of the world is getting on with it, leaving the U.S. behind. While ports on the East and West coasts slow their activity, they’re busy in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. Exports to ASEAN nations increased 11.3% to $66.4 billion, including a 20.4% jump to Vietnam to $18.9 billion; shipments to Latin America rose 9.8% to $25.7 billion; and sales to India increased 22.1% to $12.8 billion.

The story of global trade right now is geopolitics. It’s the jolt of the U.S. away from its post-war free trade consensus. There is another story we’ve discussed here that is less surprising but still ongoing. It’s the move of China and other Asian countries up the value chain, away from toys and shoes and into tech and cars. At the same time, countries like Egypt, Bangladesh and Cambodia continue to build up their apparel and textile exports.

In December, Chinese exports of high-tech products increased 16.7% to $93.7 billion. Sales of motor vehicles increased 73.2% to 994,000. By value, they rose 71.7% to $17.1 billion. Exports of toys fell 19.4% to $2.7 billion. Shipments of footwear dropped 17.4% to $3.9 billion.

How we can help:

1. ​Submit your requirement - A member of the team will reach out within 24 hours
2. ​Book a call with the team - Explore which of our 200+ data and analytics solutions align with your needs
   ​

Thank you for your time.

Regards,

James Littlejohn

Co-Founder

Info@maritimedata.ai

+44 (0)208 050 9806

You might be receiving this email because we believe that the content of our newsletter may be of interest to you based on your profession. However, if we have made an incorrect assumption, we apologise for any inconvenience caused. If you do not wish to receive future publications, please follow the instructions below to unsubscribe.