Back to Suez: transits up 36% in August, but the route is only halfway there

FRIDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026

In August, Suez transits rose 36% and capacity nearly tripled, yet volumes remain well below pre-crisis levels: here is what changes for Asia importers.

What the data says

The Suez Canal is filling up again with container ships, but cautiously. According to figures compiled by MDS Transmodal, in August 2026 some 196 vessels passed through, 36% more than in the same month of 2025. The sharpest jump, however, concerns capacity: transited hold space grew by 184%, reaching 1.68 million Teu. The month also saw the largest ship on the canal since the start of the Houthi attack crisis in November 2023, with more than 24,000 Teu of capacity.

Looking at the first eight months of 2026, the number of ships is broadly stable (1,186 against 1,230 a year earlier), while overall capacity reached 7.2 million Teu. In practice, ships passing through are larger and more loaded: the average has climbed to about 6,000 Teu per vessel, up from 3,800.

Caution: we are still far from normal

The positive signal should be read carefully. Compared with August 2023, before the crisis, transited hold space is still down 74% and the number of ships down 65%. The return, moreover, appears concentrated among a few operators and not yet spread across the whole market. In other words, this is not yet a widespread return: it is a phase of cautious repositioning that only the coming months will confirm or deny.

For importers, this means the diversion around the Cape of Good Hope, which lengthened transit times from Asia to Europe, is not yet behind us. Before revising planning and contracts, it is worth checking, service by service, whether your carrier is among those that have actually returned to Suez.

What changes for Asia importers

A structural return to Suez would have concrete effects on the supply chain, but the current picture calls for scenario-based thinking.

• Transit times: restoring the Suez route significantly shortens sailing days compared with rounding Africa, benefiting lead times and stock levels.
• Freight costs: using larger, better-filled ships can ease the unit cost per Teu, but volatility remains high until the return is widespread.
• Reliability: with few operators on the canal, service windows may vary; it is useful to monitor carrier notices and compare several options.
• Insurance and risk: the choice of route affects premiums and clauses; check the conditions with your forwarder.

The operator's angle

The practical advice is not to take a return to normal for granted. Importers should keep contracts flexible, ask their logistics partners for precise confirmation of the actual route of the services used, and model costs for both the Suez scenario and the Cape of Good Hope one. In a shifting environment, the ability to quickly recalibrate orders, delivery times and inventory levels makes the difference between suffering volatility and managing it.

With La Merce, checking whether your carrier has actually returned to Suez is a question asked service by service: with capacity still 74% below 2023 levels, the declared transit time and the real one may not match.

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