Month in Review – September 2026
Maritime
September 3: Alternative-Fuel Ship Orders Surge in August as LNG Drives Strongest Month Since 2024 – gCaptain
Alternative-fueled ship ordering accelerated sharply over the summer, with August recording the strongest monthly total in nearly two years as LNG-fueled containerships and car carriers led a fresh wave of newbuild orders.
A total of 52 alternative-fuelled vessels were added to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform in August, the highest monthly figure since October 2024. The strong month followed 47 additions in July, signaling a rebound after a relatively slow start to 2026.
LNG accounted for 46 of the vessels ordered in August, including 30 containerships and 12 car carriers. The month also included four ethanol-fuelled bulk carriers and two hydrogen-powered bulk carriers, along with an order for an LNG bunker vessel.
September 4: IMO Meeting Wraps Up Without Consensus on Net-Zero Framework – Maritime Magazine
States again failed to agree on a deal following pressure from a small minority of fossil-fuel producing nations and division among progressive states, reported the Brussels-based Transport and Environment (T&E) activist group.
Negotiations at the IMO, which wrapped up in London on September 4, have drawn a blank for the third meeting in a row, as U.S. and Saudi-led efforts to scupper progress were successful. With delegates from vulnerable countries highlighting the tragic cost of this year’s climate disasters, action is far too slow, warns T&E.
While pragmatic negotiators, including the EU, signalled openness to compromise measures such as avoiding a centralized fund and weakening greenhouse gas targets, U.S. and Saudi negotiators largely held their ground. T&E urged negotiators not to cave to the Trump administration’s crusade to sacrifice ambitious targets in favour of fossil gas and crop biofuels—a lose-lose deal for the climate and for future-proofing the industry.
The continued failure to find an ambitious common ground not only puts shipping off course to decarbonize, but also locks fossil-fuel-importing states and the shipping industry into continued dependency.
September 8: New Analysis Shows 31% Emissions Gap Between Ocean Carriers on Same Trade Lane – American Shipper
Global container shipping’s average emissions intensity rose 1.5% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, but that masked widespread efficiency gains across most vessel segments and stark operational differences between carriers running comparable services.
Athens-based VesselBot analyzed 86,389 voyages completed by 6,523 container vessels, finding that fleet-wide and trade-lane averages commonly used by shippers and regulators can obscure significant variations in individual voyage performance.
September 10: China’s Port Backlog Could Turn Golden Week into a Shipping Squeeze – Trans.INFO
More than 4 million TEU of containership capacity is currently being absorbed by port congestion, according to Linerlytica, with vessels facing waits of up to 12 days at Shanghai and Ningbo. The shipping consultancy warned in its latest Market Pulse, published on September 8, that disrupted schedules are also feeding congestion into ports further south in China and across Southeast Asia.
Crucially, Linerlytica expects the resulting cargo backlog to keep ships “fully utilized even through the traditionally slow Golden Week holidays” beginning on October 1. That would be an unusual development. China’s National Day holiday, commonly known as Golden Week, runs from October 1 to 7 this year. Factories traditionally reduce or halt production during the holiday, cargo volumes fall and container lines respond by blanking sailings.
This year, however, carriers are heading towards the holiday with a substantial backlog already sitting in the system.
September 10: Houthis Seize Key Yemeni Red Sea Port, Sources Say – American Journal of Transportation
Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen’s port city of Mocha on September 10, military sources said, posing a further threat to global energy supplies hours after President Donald Trump said he expected the war to end after mid-term elections.
Four Yemeni government military sources said the Houthis had gained further leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern outlet of the Red Sea and one of the world’s most important shipping routes, and were launching attacks on the strategic islands of Hanish. Later, two Yemeni government sources reported the Houthis had reached the islands.
If the Houthis impose a stranglehold over the waterway, on the opposite side of the Arabian peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, it could give their sponsor Iran a critical advantage in the war with the United States, reducing supplies through a second major transit corridor and sending oil prices surging.
September 14: Ports Giant DP World Redraws Hormuz Logistics with Truck Bet – gCaptain
Ports giant DP World is expanding its overland logistics network in a bet that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—vital for its flagship container and industrial hub in the United Arab Emirates—won’t return to the status quo from before the U.S.-Iran war.
The Dubai-based firm plans to grow its truck fleet by about 40% and add new land routes to diversify supply chains linking Europe, the U.S. and Asia to the Persian Gulf, said Chief Operating Officer for Freight Forwarding Europe Stephen Whittingham.
“I think we’ll never get back to the original normal,” Whittingham said. “There’s always going to be a level of uncertainty that exists now around this this geography, and so I think having options is really where DP World has said we’re going to be able to mitigate risk.”
The comments underline how the Iran war’s shock to global supply chains is likely to outlast the conflict itself, as countries and companies alike seek to reduce their dependence on the highly contested waterway. The diversification drive also aligns with the UAE’s aim to cut its reliance on the strait to zero.
September 14: Houthis Being Pushed Back from Bab el-Mandeb – The Maritime Executive
The Houthis appear to have overextended themselves in their rapid advance in SW Yemen, which saw them capture the Ras Menhali peninsula and Perim Island just offshore in the Bab el-Mandeb.
It appears that the balance of advantage may be shifting, but the tactical situation remains highly fluid.
September 14: One in Ten Inspected Cargo Units Found with Safety Deficiencies – World Shipping Council
More than one in ten cargo transport units inspected during 2025 had safety deficiencies, according to data published by the World Shipping Council (WSC).
Government authorities in seven countries reported 93,079 unit inspections in 2025 and identified deficiencies in 9,645, a rate of 10.36%. Problems included incorrect documentation, marking and labelling, improper packing and inadequate cargo securing, all of which can increase the risk of cargo damage, container losses and ship fires.
“Finding deficiencies in more than one in ten inspected units is far too high,” said Joe Kramek, President and CEO of the World Shipping Council. “Correct declaration, packing, securing and marking are fundamental safety obligations. When these requirements are not met, people’s lives are put at risk.”
The report consolidates information submitted to the International Maritime Organization by Chile, Finland, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Sweden and the United States.
WSC took on the consolidation and publication of the results after the IMO discontinued its annual consolidated report in 2024, keeping this important safety information accessible to governments and industry.
September 21: Surging Commodity Exports Drive Record H1 2026 Port of Vancouver Cargo Volumes – Maritime Magazine
Record exports of commodities are moving to new and growing overseas markets this year as the Port of Vancouver helps transport more of what Canadians make, mine, harvest and grow to more customers. Overall cargo volumes for the Port of Vancouver hit a record 88.1 million metric tonnes (MMT) for the first six months of 2026, up 3% compared with the same period for 2025.
This growth was largely due to the port delivering record volumes of Prairie grain and Alberta crude oil to Indo-Pacific markets, while exports of other key commodities like fertilizer and coal, as well as two-way container trade, remained largely steady. Vehicle imports at the port are also robust, setting a new half-year record.
September 22: New Report: Just a Third of Container Shipping on Time – FreightWaves
Global container shipping schedule reliability fell for a third consecutive month in August, with just 29% of vessels arriving on time as disruption on the Far East–Europe trade pushed performance close to pandemic-era lows, according to analyst Xeneta.
The 4-percentage-point month-to-month decline from July’s 33% on-time performance was accompanied by a sharp increase in the average delay, which rose from 4.2 days to 5.1 days.
Xeneta said the combination of more late vessels and longer delays makes a sustained recovery harder as shippers approach fourth-quarter contracting and the peak season surrounding China’s late-September and early-October holidays.
September 22: Record-Low Rhine Levels Choke Barge Traffic, Stress Ground Transport – American Shipper
Water levels in the shallowest middle section of the Rhine River have fallen to 16 centimetres below the low-water threshold, threatening to halt all barge transportation on a critical supply chain corridor for central Europe that has experienced severely reduced traffic since early summer because of ongoing drought conditions.
The actual navigable depth as of September 21 was about 4.25 feet, according to Germany’s Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration. Voyages through Switzerland and southern Germany have virtually stopped.
The inability to move large volumes of containers and bulk goods between major North Sea ports and inland centres is creating huge operational headaches and cost pressures for businesses and their logistics partners. And there is little rain in the forecast.
September 24: Iran Awaiting Response from Trump on Proposal to Open Strait of Hormuz in Six Days – The Guardian
Iran said it has told Donald Trump it is willing to open the Strait of Hormuz in six days, and to start talks on its nuclear program the day after, so long as the U.S. lifts sanctions on Iran’s oil exports in return, ends the war on all fronts—including in Lebanon—and releases some of Iran’s frozen assets.
The proposal is designed to accelerate the steps first laid down in the memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran in June, particularly by helping the talks on Iran’s nuclear program start much more quickly than previously agreed.
Iran says a deal on the temporary route through the Strait of Hormuz has been agreed on with Oman, describing it as a done deal, and is ready to register the details with the International Maritime Organization.
Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said he was waiting to hear a response from the Americans to the proposal. He added that he had consulted on the plan with China, which fully supported the proposal.
September 24: A 200,000-Container Terminal: QSL’s Project Is Expected to Be Operational by 2029 – Le Journal de Québec (translated from French)
QSL formally submitted its plans for a 200,000-container-per-year international terminal in Quebec City, which could be operational as early as January 2029. An impact assessment and mitigation process has therefore been initiated. This process, to be led by the Port of Quebec, is expected to last approximately one year.
If the project is approved, the new terminal could begin operations as early as January 2029. At that time, it would handle approximately 40,000 containers (twenty feet long) per year. It is expected that the target of 200,000 containers would not be reached until 2035.
September 27: Hapag-Lloyd Revises Offer as Sale of Zim Hangs in the Balance – The Times of Israel
Hapag-Lloyd has submitted a sweetened offer to salvage its $4.2-billion bid for Israel’s Zim freighter service, hoping to overcome objections that the acquisition would leave Israel’s main shipper in foreign hands and could leave the country in dire strategic and national security straits.
The revised offer comes after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz joined a list of political leaders objecting to the sale to the German shipping line, siding with Defence Ministry officials reviewing the potential acquisition over concerns about transferring Israel’s shipping to a foreign company.
The ministry concluded over the summer that the proposed sale doesn’t safeguard Israel’s national security interests, especially during emergencies. The proposed deal has also faced harsh opposition from Zim’s workers.
September 29: Panama Canal Raises Vessel Draft and Daily Transit Capacity – Container News
The Panama Canal will increase daily transit capacity and allow deeper drafts for Neopanamax vessels as water conditions improve across the Canal watershed.
From October 15, the Canal will offer 10 daily transit slots through the Neopanamax locks. This will bring total capacity across the Neopanamax and Panamax locks to 33 transits per day.
At the same time, the maximum authorized draft for vessels using the Neopanamax locks has been increased to 14.94 metres, or 49 feet. The draft adjustment takes effect immediately and will remain in place until further notice.
The Panama Canal attributed the changes to current and projected levels at Gatun Lake, alongside rainfall that has been close to average across the watershed. Water-saving measures implemented at the locks have also contributed to the decision to increase the maximum draft.
September 29: Israel Ends Review of Zim Deal, Telling Hapag-Lloyd to Restart Process – The Maritime Executive
After growing speculation that opposition was mounting in Israel to the proposed acquisition of Zim by Hapag-Lloyd and investment fund FIMI, the Israeli media outlet Calcalist reported on September 29 that Israel formally closed the review of the original deal. According to the report, the Government Companies Authority closed the review of the original proposal but left the door open for Hapag and FIMI to submit a new proposal and restart the review.
The rejection of the original terms comes after Hapag and FIMI reportedly presented the framework to revise the original proposal. While not increasing the financial offer, they reportedly proposed adding an Asian trade route to the surviving company and strengthening government control of the Israeli company. Reuters reported that Hapag was still urging the Israeli government to review the revised terms, which were developed in response to earlier objections to the deal.
September 30: Ships Face Fuel Delays at China’s Zhoushan on Supply Squeeze – gCaptain
Ships are being forced to wait significantly longer to refuel at China’s top bunkering hub of Zhoushan, where the fallout from the U.S.–Iran war has tightened supplies and pushed up prices.
Some vessels seeking to refuel at the port south of Shanghai are facing wait times of around one to two weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. That compares with just one to two days normally, they added.
The delays reflect a combination of crude import constraints stemming from the Middle East conflict and a broader shift by Chinese refiners toward gasoline and diesel output to capture lucrative margins. That’s led to cuts in residual fuel oil production, squeezing supplies of bunker fuel.
Air
September 8: Miami Flights Snarl After Jet Crash at MIA – The Traveler
Disruptions continue at Miami International Airport in the wake of a deadly Amazon cargo jet crash on September 6 that shut down runways and triggered a ground stop.
The incident led to a full ground stop at Miami International that lasted for several hours, halting all arrivals and departures while emergency crews responded and aviation authorities assessed the scene. The crash, which generated thick smoke visible across Miami, immediately disrupted the tightly timed schedule at one of the United States’ busiest international hubs.
Media reports indicate that two of Miami International’s four runways remained closed into September 7 while teams cleared debris and evaluated pavement and lighting systems. With only part of the normal runway system available, the airport has less flexibility to sequence arrivals and departures.
According to data cited in local coverage, by the afternoon of September 7, more than 350 flights at Miami International had been delayed and close to 90 canceled.
September 15: Canada’s 4 Largest Airports to Be Opened Up to Private Investment, Carney Says – CBC News
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will open up Canada’s four largest airports to private investment, but that Ottawa will maintain ownership of airport land.
The prime minister said the private money will be sought through “long-term concessions” to operate these airports, which would include Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, Trudeau International Airport in Montreal and Calgary International Airport.
“The government of Canada will retain ownership of the underlying land and assets, but we will unlock their true value by bringing in new capital and expertise to their operations and growth,” Carney said during an address at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto on September 15.
“We will reinvest the tens of billions of dollars of capital we raise into the infrastructure that Canada needs for the next generation.”
September 21: Flights Disrupted Across the U.S. Northeast Due to Technical Problems at a Key Air Traffic Centre – CTV News
Hundreds of flights were canceled in the U.S. Northeast due to technical problems at a key regional air traffic control centre, hitting every major airport in the New York City area for several hours on September 21 before the federal transportation chief said damaged data lines were fixed and operations were resuming.
The primary communications line failed at a key Federal Aviation Administration facility in Philadelphia and the backup fibre optic line was inadvertently severed by railroad construction workers. That left controllers without radar or communications during the day.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an online post that the primary and backup lines were fixed by the evening and all airports in the Northeast were operating again. But significant delays were expected to continue through the evening hours.
September 21: Airlines Are Trimming Routes as Fuel Prices Soar – Marketplace
Autumn officially began this week and, for airlines, that means the end of the busy summer travel season, and the beginning of the typical seasonal slowdown in demand. This year’s slowdown coincides with rising jet fuel prices, which is making airlines reconsider certain routes.
At the beginning of the year, jet fuel was a little over US$2 a gallon on average. Now, it’s at $4.50 a gallon. Industry analyst Robert W. Mann Jr., said that “the result is that routes that were reasonably profitable simply cannot be flown profitably at these higher prices.” So, airlines are starting to cut some of them to reduce their losses.
September 28: Canada’s Airports Saw Record Improvements in Delays This Summer, NAV Canada Says – Global News
There was sharp improvement in service delivery at four of Canada’s biggest airports between May and August this year, NAV Canada said in a statement.
NAV Canada, the body responsible for air traffic control in the country, reported data from Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau, Calgary and Vancouver International Airports.
The number of scheduled flights that were impacted by a delay was down 85 percent from May 1 to August 31, compared with the same period in 2025, NAV Canada said.
September 30: Middle East Air Capacity Set to Recover in Q4 to Within 5% of 2025 Levels, Reports IBA – American Journal of Transportation
IBA, an aviation market intelligence and advisory company, reports that Middle East air capacity is expected to recover to within approximately 5% of Q4 2025 levels in Q4 2026, following a sharp reduction earlier this year.
Capacity to the Middle East fell by as much as 54% in March 2026 compared with 2025, while year-to-date capacity remains 17.7% below the equivalent period last year. However, the recovery has gathered pace, with the year-on-year capacity shortfall narrowing to less than 7.7% by August 2026.
Trucking
September 8: U.S. House Legislation Targets Chameleon Carriers – Transport Topics
U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at cracking down on so-called chameleon carriers, a term for companies that evade discipline for safety and regulatory violations by shutting down and resuming operations under new names.
The Registration Enforcement for Vehicle Operations of Known Evaders (REVOKE) Act was introduced September 4 by Rep. David Taylor (R-Ohio) and co-sponsored by Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.). The bill would amend federal law to require carriers operating certain commercial motor vehicles to maintain an active U.S. Department of Transportation number.
It also would allow the secretary of transportation to immediately deactivate a USDOT number if a carrier lacks valid registration or fails to submit required periodic updates. In addition, the bill would prohibit the issuance of USDOT numbers until all registration requirements have been met.
September 10: U.S. 3PL Victory in Court: TQL Tossed as Defendant in Colorado Liability Trial – FreightWaves
With a dire view of what might happen to brokerages in a post-Montgomery world ripping through the logistics industry, one of the biggest 3PLs just won a victory in Colorado that relieved it of potential liability.
Total Quality Logistics (TQL) had its request to be dismissed from a case in a Colorado federal court granted on September 8 by Judge Nina Wang.
The facts of the case filed by Deann Miller are that her husband, Scott Miller, was driving on U.S. 285 in the Centennial State in June 2024 when steel beams fell off a truck and on to the pickup truck Miller was driving, killing him.
Deann Miller sued pretty much everybody in the supply chain, including TQL, Intsel Steel West LLC (which was the customer that was supposed to receive the shipment), and Triple-S Steel Holdings, which also was a customer for the steel. It also brought in a company called Searing Industries, which actually delivered the steel on to the truck involved in the fatal crash.
Judge Wang granted the request of TQL, Intsel and Triple-S Steel to have them tossed out as defendants. However, the dismissals were without prejudice, so the plaintiff can refile with a different legal approach.
September 12: The Greenest Mile Is the One You Don’t Run – Transport Topics
When trucking executives discuss sustainability, the conversation almost always starts at the truck. Cleaner fuels. Better aerodynamics. Tighter routing once a load is dispatched. Those investments matter, but they address only half the problem. The biggest sustainability wins in trucking happen before a single wheel turns.
For years, fleet technology focused on applying data toward the next route, using what already happened to inform what comes next. It’s useful, but only reactive. The fleets pulling ahead today are inserting artificial intelligence at a different point in the workflow: the decision point. They use it to make smarter calls about which loads to take, how to match equipment to freight, and how to sequence work across a network before a single mile is committed. That shift, from reacting to deciding, is where sustainability and profitability stop competing.
September 21: Another Aspect of Montgomery: It Might Make Human Brokers More Valuable – FreightWaves
In a day-long conference devoted to the business of logistics mergers and acquisitions, and the markets those companies serve, a guest that wasn’t on the attendee list or the agenda showed up unexpectedly: Montgomery vs. Caribe Transport II.
Its significance was raised in a discussion by Beth Carroll, CEO of the Prosperio Group. She was on a panel focused on developing and keeping talent. What she said should be good news to brokers who see the possibility of AI taking their jobs.
Carroll said she had developed concern for the future of the down-in-the-trenches broker. “I thought, is there really going to be a future for the traditional carrier sales type role?” she said. “Is that something that’s going to be completely automated?”
But post-Montgomery, Carroll said her conclusion is “I don’t think so.”
“You’re not going to stand up in court and say, well, how did this truck get booked that you know ended up killing people?” Carroll said, envisioning testimony in a lawsuit. The answer brokers are not going to want to give, she said, is “well, AI made the choice.”
September 21: C.H. Robinson Takes Broker Liability Issue to Capitol Hill – Transport Topics
C.H. Robinson Worldwide is meeting with policymakers to address what it views as unclear broker liability standards that company leadership worries threaten transportation and commerce.
“America really runs on freight,” said C.H. Robinson CEO Dave Bozeman. “I’m ringing the bell that this is about commerce, and I’m actually concerned about the impact on commerce.”
Since the Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ruling in May, C.H. Robinson and industry partners have been pressing the issue in Washington. This effort has included meetings with lawmakers from both parties to highlight the ruling’s broader potential economic implications and advocate for legislative and regulatory solutions such as the Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act, which would set a national standard of care for shippers and brokers that hire trucking companies.
“We were hoping that [the decision] would drive clarity,” Bozeman said. “What the Supreme Court really ruled in Montgomery certainly wasn’t in our favour … and that’s okay, except they also didn’t provide a standard or guidance.”
Bozeman said he is seeing signs that the ruling is already affecting brokers’ ability to obtain insurance.
September 23: Nuclear Verdicts in U.S. Trucking Nearly Triple Year Over Year in 2025 – Transport Topics
Nuclear verdicts against the trucking and automotive industries in the U.S. nearly tripled to US$3.4 billion in 2025 as researchers found settlements were becoming harder to reach and juries were more inclined to award larger damages.
Overall, about 200 juries last year delivered verdicts of $10 million or more—the threshold for so-called “nuclear” verdicts—totaling $25.6 billion, a 40.7% increase from 2024.
The findings are detailed in the 2026 edition of Marathon Strategies’ annual report, Corporate Verdicts Go Thermonuclear. The New York-based public relations firm specializes in crisis and issues management.
“For the second consecutive year, juries returned more than 40 ‘thermonuclear’ verdicts exceeding $100 million, including four awards topping $1 billion,” Marathon said. The report defines thermonuclear verdicts as those exceeding $100 million.
CIFFA Advocacy, Communications, Activities
September 2: Video – Ministerial Announcement of Transportation and Supply Chain Workforce Alliance
Announced last week, the new Transportation and Supply Chain Workforce Alliance (TASC)—led by Trucking HR Canada in partnership with CIFFA—brings together leaders from trucking, rail, marine, air cargo and logistics to address shared workforce challenges and opportunities across Canada’s transportation and supply chain system.
Over the next three years, TASC will strengthen workforce intelligence, identify shared priorities, advance practical solutions and pilot initiatives to help build a more resilient, productive and future-ready transportation and supply chain workforce.
Watch this video to see highlights of the announcement in Calgary by Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu. CIFFA Executive Director Bruce Rodgers participated in the announcement.
September 22: CIFFA Applauds Introduction of Building Canada Strong Act
CIFFA has announced its support for the Building Canada Strong Act (BCSA), a comprehensive economic and labour reform omnibus bill that comes after extensive consultation. CIFFA was a leading participant throughout the consultations, and the legislation addresses all the components that CIFFA flagged across each of our submissions during the summer.
The BCSA will address the urgent need to get transportation infrastructure built faster, to enhance the efficiency and ease with which trade is conducted across the supply chain, to remove longstanding obstacles to economic growth and reputational reliability across our allied trade partners, in addition to introducing fairer measures to address poor labour relations in the federally mandated transportation sector.
September 22: CIFFA Participates in Round 2 Consultation on Canada’s AI Strategy
On September 22, CIFFA submitted a paper to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) providing a second round of input following up on the strong efforts taken by the Government of Canada since launching “Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All” in June.
CIFFA participated in the initial consultation process during the conception phase of this strategy, and our official submission contained several aspects that we were pleased to see implemented in the federal strategy.
CIFFA’s latest submission, Enhancing trust in artificial intelligence through increased transparency, provides input that focuses on the transportation and logistics sector.
