IN Brief:
- CMA CGM's revised China–West Africa charges began on 8 November, reaching $950 per TEU for qualifying South China shipments on short-term contracts.
- Other November changes include $500 per TEU from Southeast Asia to West Africa and $400 per TEU on specified China–East Africa and Mozambique routes.
- The correct charge depends on cargo origin, destination, equipment, contract conditions, and loading date, with Chinese tariff filings affecting how amounts appear in quotations.
CMA CGM has revised peak season surcharges across several container shipping trades between Asia and Africa, with charges reaching $950 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) on selected South China–West Africa shipments. The carrier has issued separate tariff notices covering West Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Somalia, with implementation dates running from 8 to 15 November 2026.
The largest charge appears in CMA CGM’s 5 November notice for cargo moving from South China, Hong Kong, and Macau to the carrier’s West Africa Central Range. The specified destinations are Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, and Togo. From the 8 November loading date, qualifying dry and refrigerated cargo on short-term contracts attracts a peak season surcharge of $950 per TEU.
For shipments from North and Central China to the same destination group, the published amount is $550 per TEU. The different rates apply to geographical origin ranges defined by the carrier, making the port of loading a material part of the calculation. Two containers bound for the same West African destination may therefore be subject to different charges when they originate from different Chinese ports.
Other destinations have separate treatment. The notice specifies $200 per TEU for qualifying shipments from China and its special administrative regions to a northern West African group covering Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Senegal is excluded from that grouping, while cargo destined for Dakar and Tema in Ghana carries a separate published charge of $350 per TEU.
CMA CGM has maintained a $900 per TEU charge for its West Africa South Range, covering Angola, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Gabon, and Cameroon. That amount was already specified in the carrier’s October tariff notices, so it should not be presented as a wholly new increase introduced in November. The latest advisory retains it within the revised schedule alongside other rates that have changed.
The differences become clearer when the latest notice is compared with the carrier’s 27 October schedule. From 1 November, that earlier advisory listed $700 per TEU for China to the West Africa Central Range, before the 8 November revision separated North and Central China from South China and the special administrative regions. The resulting charges are not a uniform increase across every origin, and their effect depends on the route being priced.
Further adjustments take effect from 15 November. CMA CGM has introduced a $500 per TEU surcharge for dry and refrigerated freight moving from Southeast Asia to West Africa under qualifying short-term contracts. This is a separate origin range from China and its special administrative regions and cannot be assumed to apply to the same shipments covered by the China–West Africa advisory.
On routes to East Africa, the carrier has specified $400 per TEU for shipments from South China to Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania from 10 November. The same rate applies to cargo originating in North and Central China from 15 November. Although the amount is identical, the different commencement dates determine which sailings are affected at each origin.
Mozambique has another published arrangement. All eligible cargo originating in South China is subject to a $400 per TEU peak season surcharge from the 10 November loading date until further notice. Separately, the carrier has set a $250 per TEU charge for cargo from China to Mogadishu, Somalia, effective 15 November. These notices have their own cargo and geographical scope rather than forming one Africa-wide tariff.
The charges are additional components of the freight rate and do not represent the complete cost of transporting a container. Ocean freight, bunker-related adjustments, terminal handling, security charges, and applicable local fees may also form part of a carrier’s invoice. A peak season surcharge must therefore be considered within the full quotation rather than used independently as a door-to-door transport price.
Most amounts are expressed per TEU, the standard capacity unit corresponding to a nominal 20ft container. Where a tariff applies strictly per TEU, a conventional 40ft unit represents two such units for calculation purposes. The resulting invoice nevertheless depends on the carrier’s tariff terms, container type, and commercial contract, so the published amount should not be multiplied automatically without checking those conditions.
CMA CGM also specifies that the surcharges affecting shipments from China are subject to the relevant Shanghai Shipping Exchange filing requirements and may be included within the ocean freight rate. A quotation incorporating the surcharge in the base freight figure should not have the same component added a second time. The applicable rate must be reconciled with the carrier’s commercial documentation and any relevant filing.
Loading dates are another source of variation. Several revisions take effect on 8, 10, or 15 November, meaning that shipments booked during the same period can be charged differently depending on when the container is actually loaded. Contract terms, origin and destination ports, and whether the goods travel in dry or refrigerated equipment must be checked against the particular advisory.
The new rates affect procurement and distribution arrangements where shipping costs form part of an agreed delivered price. A freight forwarder may need to amend a quotation before the shipment is loaded, while a buyer and seller may need to establish which party bears the charge under their commercial terms. The tariff notices do not establish a corresponding change in customs duties, which are assessed under separate rules.
China–West Africa changes have already begun, with further East African and Southeast Asian adjustments scheduled during the coming days. CMA CGM’s individual tariff notices remain the operative reference for the amounts and effective dates. No common expiry date has been announced for all the affected routes, and subsequent changes will depend on further carrier instructions.
