Global container volumes climbed to a record 17.3m TEU in July 2026, up 4.5% year on year, according to figures released on 8 September by Container Trades Statistics (CTS).
The total was about 25,000 TEU above the previous monthly record set in May after revisions to earlier data. Global volumes for the first seven months of 2026 increased 5.1% from the same period of 2025.
The record came as container freight pricing strengthened. The CTS global price index reached 115 points in July, rising 7 points from June and 37% from July 2025. It was about 47% higher than at the start of 2026 and at its highest level since August 2024.
CTS linked the pricing pressure to disruption since February, higher oil prices, changing tariff conditions and low water levels in the Panama Canal.
"Yet, so far, global volumes have continued to adapt rather than retreat," CTS said. Import growth was led by Sub-Saharan Africa, where volumes rose 14% in the first seven months. Almost 700,000 additional TEU moved from the Far East to the region, while cargo from North America increased by nearly 15%.
European imports rose 6.1%, including about 1.5m additional TEU from the Far East. Imports into the Indian subcontinent and Middle East were the only regional flow to decline, falling 4.2%.
Exports showed a wider divergence. Shipments from the Indian subcontinent and Middle East fell 8.5%, while European exports declined 0.7%. Volumes from Europe to the Indian subcontinent and Middle East dropped by more than 10%.
Far East exports increased almost 9%, equivalent to nearly 6m additional TEU, with growth recorded to every destination region. North American imports from the Far East reached 2.23m TEU in July, up 4.2% year on year, while the CTS price index for the trade was 46.5% higher.
CTS is an independent private company incorporated under English law and headquartered in Woking, United Kingdom. Established in 2008, it manages container trade data on behalf of World Liner Data Ltd and compiles TEU volume and price-index data from contributing carriers, supplemented by estimates for non-contributing lines.