Most of CMA CGM’s peak season surcharges this cycle have already reached their published effective dates. The Asia–North Europe, West Africa, and China–Southern Africa filings took effect through June. The major charges still ahead of their effective date are the two Mediterranean–to–US East Coast PSS notices, both dated July 1. If you have boxes moving from the Mediterranean to the US East Coast, the figures below are what is being added — and there is a date question worth confirming before you assume a late-June departure avoids the charge.
The July 1 charge, by sub-lane
CMA CGM published two separate PSS notices covering Mediterranean origins to the US East Coast, both effective July 1, 2026 and running until further notice. The amounts vary sharply by origin range.
| Origin | Destination | Per 20′ | Per 40′ / 40HC / 45′ | Cargo scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Mediterranean | US East Coast | USD 500 | USD 1,000 | All except OOG |
| East Mediterranean | US East Coast | USD 1,300 | USD 2,600 | Dry |
The East Med rate is the one to watch. At USD 2,600 per 40-foot box to the US East Coast, it runs more than double the West Med charge on the same destination. CMA CGM defines the East Med origin range as Türkiye, Greece, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Egypt, Syria, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, Albania, and Slovenia. If you ship out of any of those to a US East Coast port, the per-container exposure is meaningfully higher than a West Med shipper faces on the same lane.
Canada sits on a separate timetable. CMA CGM’s West Mediterranean–to–Canada East Coast PSS took effect June 15 at USD 300 per 20-foot and USD 600 per 40-foot or 45-foot container. The notice covers dry cargo excluding OOG. I found no equivalent East Mediterranean–to–Canada filing in this notice series; do not assume the US East Coast figure carries over to that routing.
The West Med filing is lower but still material. Its published origin range covers Italy, Spanish Mediterranean ports including Barcelona, Valencia, Algeciras, Sagunto and Vigo, and Fos in southern France. The charge is USD 500 per 20-foot container and USD 1,000 per 40-foot, 40HC, or 45-foot container, covering all cargo except out-of-gauge.
What the July 1 date does — and does not — tell you
Both US East Coast notices state the PSS applies “from July 1st, 2026 until further notice.” They do not name a controlling shipment milestone. That omission matters, because many of CMA CGM’s other surcharge notices explicitly tie applicability to the “date of loading in the origin ports” — and these two do not.
So a booking made before July 1 is not automatically exempt, and the public notice alone does not establish that a container loading before July 1 escapes the charge either. The controlling rule may sit in the applicable tariff, service contract, quotation, or price-calculation terms for the specific shipment.
For an East Med–US East Coast shipment, the exposure is USD 2,600 per 40-foot container — large enough to justify confirming the governing date rule before changing a sailing or assuming a late-June move removes the charge. Ask CMA CGM or your forwarder to confirm in writing which date determines applicability for the booking in question.
The figures above are the PSS only. CMA CGM states that bunker-related surcharges, terminal handling charges at origin and destination, and safety and security charges may also apply, along with local and contingency charges. The PSS is one line on the invoice, not the full landed cost, and other rate components may move in the same window.
If your team is tracking which Mediterranean shipments fall under the July 1 PSS across multiple bookings, keeping the carrier’s effective date, quoted rate terms, and actual shipment milestones together is where the exposure gets caught or missed — walk through how ops teams monitor rate-date exposure across carriers in one view.
How this fits the wider cycle
The Mediterranean–US East Coast PSS is the tail end of a months-long CMA CGM surcharge rollout, not a standalone event. Earlier filings in the same broader cycle — covering Asia to North Europe, China to South and West Africa, and West Mediterranean to Canada — have already reached their effective dates and generally remain in force until further notice. Some of those lanes saw more than one notice, with later filings revising earlier amounts or dates, which is part of why the effective date on any single lane is worth checking rather than assuming.
The broader pattern is carriers applying peak season charges lane by lane through the summer rather than in one network-wide announcement. The practical takeaway is narrow: for every lane you book, track the effective date, the covered origin and destination range, the cargo scope, and the governing tariff rule. Surcharges from the same carrier can carry different dates, amounts, and application mechanics.
Further Reading
- CMA CGM PSS — From West Mediterranean to US East Coast (AJOT, CMA CGM notice)
- CMA CGM PSS — From East Mediterranean to US East Coast (AJOT, CMA CGM notice)
- CMA CGM PSS02 — From West Mediterranean to Canada East Coast (AJOT, CMA CGM notice)
- CMA CGM announces new PSS charges on multiple trade routes (Container News)
- CMA CGM expands PSS hikes across Africa, Europe and North America trades (Container News)
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