Baltic FBX Week 38: China–US West Coast +$633 to $8,348; Europe keeps easing

178 China Section 301 exclusions expire Nov 10 unless USTR extends

FreightFigures (16 Sep 2026) notes all 178 remaining China Section 301 product exclusions (164 product-specific plus 14 solar-manufacturing equipment lines) expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on 9 Nov 2026. Entries or bonded withdrawals for consumption on or after 10 Nov lose heading 9903.88.69 and face the underlying list rates again (25% on Lists 1-3, 7.5% on List 4A) unless USTR acts. As of mid-September, no Federal Register comment request matching prior extension cycles had appeared.

China August solar equipment exports fall 39% by weight; fourth straight YoY drop

Reuters (18 Sep 2026) reports Chinese customs data showing August solar power equipment exports down 39% year on year by weight after removal of an export tax rebate — a fourth consecutive monthly decline. China exported 840,000 metric tons of solar cells and panels in August (slightly above July’s 830,000 tons), valued at USD 2.25 billion (−23.1% YoY). On a unit basis, shipments fell 37.8% to 924.9 million cells and panels.

China-Gulf box rates at records: Jeddah $10,870 / Khor al Fakkan $10,626 FEU

The Loadstar (15 Sep 2026), citing Xeneta, reports China-Jeddah and China-Khor al Fakkan average spot rates at $10,870 and $10,626 per 40ft, up 256% and 479% since 28 February after more than six months of effective container closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Gulf importers continue to rely on Red Sea and UAE bypass landbridges; haulage from those gateways is also historically expensive, with longer transit and weaker reliability.

Xeneta: global schedule reliability falls to 29%; Far East–Europe only 6% on-time

Xeneta’s August 2026 Schedule Reliability Scorecard (reported 18 Sep 2026 via World Ports Organization) puts global on-time arrivals at 29%, down 4 percentage points from July and the second-worst reading in 12 months. Average delay rose from 4.2 to 5.1 days. Far East–Europe collapsed to 6% on-time with 8.2 days average delay — levels last seen in late-2021 pandemic peaks — after China typhoons left about 1.1m TEU at Ningbo, Shanghai and Yantian anchorages.