Maritime Mood Monitoring: Key Trends Shaping Global Trade & Logistics This Week

🧭 TL;DR (WEEK OF DEC 8–15, 2025)

Rates nudged up: Drewry’s composite rose about 2 percent week on week, with Asia–Europe firmer and Transpac eased again.
Rotation and service tweaks: Liners continue to adjust Asia–Europe calls to work around heavy gateways. Maersk’s SLB loop is shifting from London Gateway to Tilbury.
Flood recovery in Thailand: Southern Thai ports, including Songkhla, moved from weather holds to gradual normalization with residual backlogs.
Fleet decarb: Hapag-Lloyd ordered eight 4,500 TEU methanol-ready ships for the mid-size segment.

📊 Maritime Mood Index

Score: 6.0 / 10 — Rates off the floor, schedules still sensitive to congestion and service re-routing.

Security Risk (→): No new broad escalation reported this week. Standard Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin precautions remain.
Rate Dynamics (↑): WCI composite up week on week. Spot firmness clearer on Asia–Europe. Transpac softened week on week.
Operational Disruptions (↑): North Europe congestion risk persists. Southern Thailand clearing flood backlogs.
Policy Pressure (→): No fresh tariff shocks in scope this week.
Innovation Momentum (↑): New methanol-ready orders signal continued decarbonization in the feeder and mid-size ranges.

Interpretation: Capacity is workable, yet variability remains. Treat weekly indices as directional. Validate named-service changes and build transshipment buffers at heavy North Europe hubs. For southern Thailand routings, plan for cleanup of rolled feeders.

🚨 Top Headlines to Watch (Dec 8–15)

Theme	Key Development	Operational Relevance
Rates	WCI composite increased week on week.	Short-validity spot may tick up on Asia–Europe. Recheck bunker and PSS clauses before month end.
Asia–Europe Calls	Liners consider rotation changes to avoid congested North Europe gateways.	Map bookings to loops. If your window shifts, split volumes and add hub dwell buffers.
UK Service Switch	Maersk SLB loop changing UK call from London Gateway to Tilbury. (first planned call ETD 18 Jan 2026).	Update dray legs, VGM and cut-off routines tied to the UK call.
Flood Recovery	Southern Thailand ports moved from weather holds to gradual normalization.	Expect residual rollovers on feeders. Keep missed-slot contingencies.
Fleet Orders	Hapag-Lloyd ordered eight 4,500 TEU methanol-ready container ships.	Mid-size eco-tonnage grows. Expect greener options on regional loops from 2028 onward.

📊 Market Movements

Container Rates: Firming from the floor

Benchmarks are aligned to their native publication days and used as directional guides.

WCI composite: about $1,957 per FEU, up about 2% WoW [as of Dec 11].
SCFI composite: about 1,506.46 [as of Dec 12].
CCFI composite: about 1,118.07 [as of Dec 12].
Read: Asia–Europe spot shows clearer firmness. Transpac remained under downward pressure despite blank sailings.

Regional Port Conditions

Port or Region	Trend	Driver	Takeaway
North Europe gateways	Elevated congestion risk	Heavy volumes and re-stow pressure	Pre-book empties and add hub dwell buffers on AE loops.
Southern Thailand (Songkhla and neighbors)	Gradual normalization	Post-flood recovery and backlog clearance	Expect residual feeder rollovers and delayed gate moves.
United Kingdom – SLB loop	Call change	Service shift from London Gateway to Tilbury	Adjust drayage and cut-off planning to the new port of call.

⚠️ Operational Disruptions

North Europe Congestion Windows

High yard density and re-stows are stretching berth productivity at key hubs. Carriers are considering rotation tweaks to maintain schedule integrity.

Status: Intermittent delays and ad-hoc port swaps.
Driver: Volume peaks and hub concentration.
Action: Monitor named loops for call changes. Add one to two days of buffer at transshipment hubs.

Southern Thailand Flood Recovery

Severe weather earlier in the period limited access and gate moves. Conditions shifted from holds to recovery with bookings resuming and gradual normalization.

Status: Recovery in progress with backlogs clearing.
Driver: Flood impacts on road access and yard operations.
Action: Keep missed-slot contingencies and coordinate feeder alternatives.

🛠 Innovation & Infrastructure

New Methanol-Ready Mid-size Orders

Hapag-Lloyd ordered eight 4,500 TEU methanol-ready ships for delivery from 2028, reinforcing greener capacity in regional and mid-haul networks.

Relevance: Supports lower-carbon options on feeder and mid-size trades.
Action: Expect more eco-tonnage deployment on regional loops over the medium term.

Turn these moving parts into early alerts. TRADLINX Ocean Visibility tracks blankings, port swaps, and berth windows in one timeline your customers can trust.

📚 Sources & Reference Links

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