Transpacific ocean rates firm while Asia–Europe softens ahead of Golden Week

US and China advance talks on reciprocal tariff cuts near $30bn each

Reporting dated 15 Sep 2026 (Business Times reprinting Bloomberg) says Washington and Beijing are discussing reciprocal tariff cuts on roughly USD 30 billion of goods on each side, including US agriculture and energy exports and lower duties on some Chinese manufacturing inputs. China’s Commerce Ministry earlier (10 Sep, Xinhua) confirmed consultations on that framework, aiming for early implementation ahead of an expected Trump-Xi meeting around 24 Sep. No final product list or effective date h

Golden Week 2026: Mid-Autumn plus National Day squeezes late-September sailings

SEKO Logistics’ Golden Week 2026 guide highlights a dual-holiday calendar: Mid-Autumn Festival 25-27 Sep, then National Day Golden Week 1-7 Oct, with adjusted working days on 20 Sep and 10 Oct. That leaves a short final working window of 28-30 Sep for cargo handovers before the National Day shutdown. SEKO also cites large Asia-Europe blank-sailing programs into Weeks 39-43, with Week 41 flagged as especially tight at Shanghai and Ningbo.

China port congestion may keep ships full through Golden Week

Trans.info (10 Sep 2026), citing Linerlytica’s 8 Sep Market Pulse, reports more than 4 million TEU of containership capacity absorbed by port congestion, with waits of up to 12 days at Shanghai and Ningbo. Kuehne+Nagel data as of 8 Sep showed a 7-day average wait of 4.72 days at Shanghai (some Waigaoqiao terminals over nine days) and 3.58 days at Ningbo. Linerlytica expects the export backlog to keep vessels fully utilized even through Golden Week (1–7 Oct), when demand usually falls and carrier

China August industrial output rises 5.2%; retail sales stay soft

Reuters (15 Sep 2026) reports China’s industrial output grew 5.2% year on year in August, up from 4.5% in July and above a Reuters poll median of 4.8% (42 analysts), according to National Bureau of Statistics data. Retail sales rose only 0.4%, slowing from 0.6% in July and below the 0.8% consensus. Fixed-asset investment fell 7.2% in the first eight months, matching forecasts after a 6.7% decline through July.