CMA CGM slaps $1,235 PSS on Asia–Mauritius and $1,000 on China–Kenya boxes

CMA CGM will charge shippers up to US$1,235 per TEU in new Peak Season Surcharges on Asia–East Africa and Indian Ocean trades from late October 2026, with two separate levies hitting Port Louis and Mombasa cargo.

The bigger of the two applies to the Far East–Port Louis lane. From October 28, CMA CGM introduces a PSS of US$1,235 per TEU on all shipments into Mauritius's main port. The carrier has not set an expiry date for that charge.

Kenya-bound cargo gets its own levy, at a lower level. From October 25, 2026, a PSS of US$1,000 per TEU applies to cargo moving from South China and Hong Kong to Mombasa. Unlike the Port Louis measure, CMA CGM has stated the Mombasa surcharge remains in effect "until further notice" — open-ended, but at least formally framed as temporary.

Both surcharges cover all cargo, with no commodity exemptions mentioned.

What does this change for shippers?

The immediate arithmetic is blunt. A shipper moving a 40-foot box on these lanes should expect the charge to double, because the tariffs are quoted per TEU. On the Far East–Port Louis trade, that reads as roughly US$2,470 per FEU added on top of base ocean freight. For South China–Mombasa cargo, it's about US$2,000 per FEU.

There's a filing wrinkle worth watching. For shipments originating in China, CMA CGM says the surcharges are subject to the relevant filings with the Shanghai Shipping Exchange and may be included in the ocean freight rate. In practice, that means China-origin shippers may see the PSS rolled into quoted all-in rates rather than broken out as a separate line — which complicates rate benchmarking and tender comparisons on those origins.

And the headline numbers aren't the ceiling. CMA CGM has flagged that additional charges may stack alongside the PSS, including:

• Bunker-related surcharges
• Terminal handling charges at origin and destination
• Safety and security charges
• Other contingency and local charges

That list matters for landed-cost modelling. The US$1,000–$1,235 range is the visible surcharge, not the full add-on stack.

Timing tells the story

The timing is the tell here. Both levies take effect in late October 2026, ahead of the final months of the year — the window carriers typically price as peak season on Asia–Africa and Indian Ocean trades. A PSS without a stated end date, as on Port Louis, effectively functions as a base-rate increase by another name until the carrier says otherwise.

For carriers, the move signals CMA CGM expects sustained demand or tight capacity on these secondary eastbound lanes into late 2026. For forwarders, the open-ended structure means quotes to Mauritian and Kenyan importers need explicit surcharge-validity clauses, because a PSS that runs "until further notice" can sit on an invoice for months.

For shippers — particularly importers in Mauritius and Kenya sourcing from China and the Far East — the practical question is whether to accelerate cargo ahead of the October 25 and 28 start dates, or absorb the levy and renegotiate. Either way, budget lines for these corridors just moved up by four figures per box.

Whether the surcharges hold, soften or harden into 2027 will depend on capacity and demand on the Asia–East Africa and Indian Ocean lanes in the closing quarter of 2026.