Maersk revises its peak season surcharge on Indian Subcontinent and Middle East cargo to the US and Canadian East Coast and Gulf on 15 September 2026. Dry cargo from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan into Houston is filed at US$9,800 per container.
The reefer half of the same filing is the part worth reading twice. For a named group of South and East India ports it lists US$6,700 on 15 September, US$5,200 on 16 September, and US$2,600 from 17 September. Two of those levels are filed for a single day each.
Dry cargo levels from 15 September
Maersk files the same amount for 20DRY and for 40DRY, 40HDRY and 45HDRY. There is no size differential in this table.
| Origin | Destination | Per container |
|---|---|---|
| India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan | Houston | US$9,800 |
| North West India, Nepal, Bhutan | All ports except Houston | US$9,650 |
| South and East India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives | All ports except Houston | US$9,500 |
| Pakistan | All ports | US$9,000 |
| UAE, Yemen, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain | All ports | US$6,000 |
Houston is carved out of two rows. Cargo from North West India, Nepal and Bhutan pays US$9,650 to every covered port other than Houston, and cargo from South and East India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives pays US$9,500 on the same basis. Houston-bound cargo from that combined origin group sits in its own row at US$9,800.
The reefer table has three levels across three consecutive dates
| Origin | Effective | Per container |
|---|---|---|
| Kattupalli, Ennore Chennai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Tuticorin, Cochin | 15 September only | US$6,700 |
| Kattupalli, Ennore Chennai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Tuticorin, Cochin | 16 September only | US$5,200 |
| Kattupalli, Ennore Chennai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Tuticorin, Mangalore, Cochin, Haldia, Chennai, Krishnapatnam | From 17 September | US$2,600 |
| Amingaon, Marmagao, Durgapur, Raipur, Coimbatore, Kakinada | From 24 September | US$2,600 |
| Pakistan | From 15 September | US$8,000 |
| North West India | From 15 September | US$6,700 |
| Bhutan, UAE, Nepal, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Iraq | From 15 September | US$7,000 |
The gap between the first row and the third is US$4,100 per container, across two calendar days, on the same lane.
The port scope also shifts between the steps. Mangalore, Haldia, Chennai and Krishnapatnam appear only from 17 September. A shipper reading the first row and assuming the port list holds for the third will get the scope wrong.
One further inversion is worth noting. Reefer is filed below dry for some origins and above it for others. Pakistan dry is US$9,000 against US$8,000 reefer. The Gulf group is US$6,000 dry against US$7,000 reefer. Equipment type does not move the level in a consistent direction here.
What is a Price Calculation Date on a Maersk booking?
The Price Calculation Date, or PCD, is the date Maersk uses to decide which filed tariff level applies to a booking. Maersk’s Indian Subcontinent and Middle East to US East Coast and Gulf advisories define it for non-spot bookings in two ways: for non-FMC trades it is the scheduled departure date of the first water leg at the time of booking confirmation, while for FMC trades it is the last container gate-in date.
For US-bound cargo on this trade, the FMC definition is the relevant one. The PCD for a non-spot booking is the last container gate-in date. Maersk also states that the PSS does not apply to SPOT bookings.
For a reefer moving to the US East Coast, that makes the date exposure concrete. A Kattupalli reefer with a last container gate-in date of 15 September and one with a last container gate-in date of 17 September are separated by US$4,100 per container under the filed levels.
If your September reefer bookings out of Chennai, Kattupalli, Kolkata or Cochin are sitting close to one of these effective dates, walk through how ops teams confirm actual gate-in timestamps per container rather than reconstructing them after the invoice arrives.
The West Coast PSS rises to US$8,000 from 21 September
Maersk issued a newer West Coast filing on 21 August. It revises the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East PSS to the US and Canadian West Coast to US$8,000 per container from 21 September 2026, across 20ft dry and reefer, 40ft dry and reefer, 40ft high dry and 45ft high dry equipment.
The filing also uses Maersk’s standard PCD language. For non-spot FMC bookings, the Price Calculation Date is the last container gate-in date; for non-FMC bookings, it is the scheduled departure date of the first water leg at the time of booking confirmation. The PSS does not apply to SPOT bookings.
The 21 August filing is newer than Maersk’s 16 July West Coast advisory, which had listed US$5,000 from 15 August through 31 December. The newer filing therefore provides the current primary-source level from 21 September. If you have cargo pricing before that date, confirm the applicable intermediate level against the tariff lookup or your booking rather than relying on earlier trade coverage.
The Asia to Europe PSS came off on 1 September
Maersk removed its remaining peak season surcharge on Far East Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean cargo from Price Calculation Date 1 September 2026, across all equipment types. Maersk had revised the surcharge to US$250 per 20ft and US$500 per 40ft and 45ft from 3 August, with Korean origin cargo from 10 August. Part of the Mediterranean scope was removed earlier, from 14 August and from 23 August for Korean-origin cargo, before Maersk removed the remaining North Europe and Mediterranean PSS from 1 September. An earlier July revision had set the level at US$750 per 20ft and US$1,500 per 40ft and 45ft from 7 July, with Korean origin cargo from 16 July.
The removal is confirmed in Maersk’s own 12 August rate announcement. If you ship this lane, the practical step is checking that the line has actually dropped off September invoices.
What to check before you book
- Your origin’s exact row. North West India and South and East India are separate rows at separate levels, and Houston is carved out of both.
- Reefer effective dates. If a reefer booking prices on 15 or 16 September, check whether moving it past 17 September is feasible and what that does to the level.
- Port scope per step. The reefer port list is not identical across the three dates.
- Which date governs. For US non-spot bookings, Maersk defines PCD as the last container gate-in date. For non-FMC bookings, it is the scheduled departure date of the first water leg at booking confirmation.
- The West Coast date. Maersk’s newer filing puts the US$8,000 West Coast level into effect on 21 September, not 15 September.
- What sits on top. Maersk states these levels are subject to other applicable surcharges including local and contingency charges. This is a surcharge line, not an all-in rate.
Maersk moved the same corridor six weeks ago, alongside three other carriers, in the July round of Indian Subcontinent filings. The same Price Calculation Date question ran through last week’s S5S surcharge on the India to South Africa trade.
Further Reading
- Peak Season Surcharge (PSS): Indian Subcontinent and Middle East to US East Coast and Gulf — Maersk, 12 August 2026
- Peak Season Surcharge (PSS): Indian Subcontinent and Middle East to US West Coast — Maersk, 16 July 2026
- Revision of Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) from Far East Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean — Maersk, 12 August 2026
- PSS Revision: Far East Asia to Mediterranean — Maersk, 6 August 2026
- Revision of Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) from Far East Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean — Maersk, 23 July 2026
- Maersk Tariff Lookup — Maersk
All East Coast and Gulf dry and reefer levels, origin and destination scopes, and effective dates are transcribed from Maersk’s rate announcement of 12 August 2026 as published on maersk.com. Maersk’s Indian Subcontinent and Middle East to US advisories define Price Calculation Date for non-spot bookings as the scheduled departure date of the first water leg at booking confirmation for non-FMC trades and the last container gate-in date for FMC trades. Maersk’s 21 August West Coast filing sets the PSS at US$8,000 per container from 21 September 2026. Maersk’s 12 August Far East Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean advisory removes the remaining PSS from Price Calculation Date 1 September 2026. The published level had been US$250 per 20ft and US$500 per 40ft and 45ft from 3 August, with Korean origin cargo from 10 August, while part of the Mediterranean scope had already been removed from 14 August and from 23 August for Korean-origin cargo. Maersk states that these levels are subject to other applicable surcharges including local and contingency charges, and that for trades subject to the US Shipping Act, surcharges varying from the Maersk tariff are not binding unless filed with the FMC in a service contract or amendment. Confirm all levels, scopes and governing dates against your own booking confirmation and service contract before committing cargo.
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