On February 28, 2026, joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the most severe shipping disruption since the Suez Canal blockage of 2021. Within 48 hours, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to Western-allied shipping. Three weeks later, the consequences are still unfolding.
The Numbers
- Hormuz traffic down ~70% — only 21 tankers since Feb 28 vs 100+/day normal
- 700+ vessels stranded worldwide
- Container rates up 28.3% since the conflict started
- Asia-Gulf rates doubled from $1,800 to $4,000+/FEU in 48 hours
- Brent crude peaked at $126/barrel (now ~$100 after de-escalation signals)
- All major carriers abandoned Suez return plans
Why Developers Should Care
If you're building anything that touches supply chains — inventory management, procurement, logistics automation, or freight comparison tools — these disruptions directly impact your users.
Rate volatility means your hardcoded shipping estimates are wrong. Port congestion means your ETAs are wrong. Carrier surcharges change weekly.
What We Built
At ShippingRates, we track demurrage, detention, and freight rates across 8 carriers in 158 countries. Our API gives you real-time data instead of stale spreadsheets:
# Compare D&D rates across carriers
curl -X POST https://api.shippingrates.org/api/dd/compare \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"country": "AE", "container_type": "40HC", "days": 14}'
Free tier: 25 requests/month, no signup needed.
MCP server for AI agents:
{
"mcpServers": {
"shippingrates": {
"url": "https://mcp.shippingrates.org/mcp"
}
}
}
Read the Full Analysis
We published a comprehensive breakdown covering rate impacts by trade lane, carrier responses (CMA CGM, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd), insurance market collapse, and actionable steps for shippers:
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