Container freight rates stayed under upward pressure on May 12 as Strait of Hormuz tensions and the invalidation of Section 122 reached the market on the same day, according to Freightos' weekly update.

The two events — one geopolitical, one regulatory — pushed carriers, forwarders, and beneficial cargo owners to reassess pricing, routing, and contract exposure with little time between headlines.

What does the Section 122 invalidation change?

The decision removes a regulatory provision that shippers, carriers, and forwarders had relied on for compliance and contract structuring. Service agreements that referenced Section 122 now need legal review, as some clauses lose their foundation while others survive under broader regulatory authority.

The ruling also disturbs the commercial backdrop on U.S. trades where Section 122 had settled prior questions. Forwarders holding 2026 service contracts should expect a brief period of uncertainty as parties reprice obligations.

Brokers on the spot side will need to revisit how common carriage and contract carriage obligations are quoted, particularly where BAF, EBS, and security-related surcharges had been anchored to the invalidated framework.

How are Hormuz tensions filtering into rate levels?

The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical chokepoint for seaborne energy flows and a transit lane for container and ro-ro services calling at Gulf ports. Any sustained threat to safe passage lifts bunker costs, war-risk insurance premiums, and rerouting expense across the carrier stack.

Those costs eventually reach shippers through revised surcharges and rate announcements.

Capacity that detours around the Cape of Good Hope, or that pauses Gulf calls altogether, removes tonnage from the effective network schedule. Feeder and relay services from hubs such as Jebel Ali, Salalah, and Dammam already operate on tight windows, and any rerouting cuts into the headroom carriers had built for peak-summer demand.

The result: GRI pushes, FAK revisions, and capacity management measures such as blank sailings, all of which lift the rate floor.

Shippers moving refrigerated cargo, project freight, and chemicals through the Gulf should expect mid-month surcharges and shorter rate validity windows. Carriers are likely to push bunker and security recovery onto freight invoices where contracts permit.

What should shippers and carriers track from here?

Two threads drive the next two to four weeks. On regulation, the Section 122 decision may face an appeal or a request for stay, and parties should watch the docket for movement that could restore or further restrict the invalidated framework.

On geopolitics, Hormuz risk will depend on whether naval activity in the Gulf escalates or de-escalates, and on how long insurers and operators price in transit risk.

Carriers serving Middle East trades have already begun adjusting capacity, and shippers should confirm space and rate validity before booking. Until either the regulatory ruling is stayed on appeal or Hormuz transit stabilizes, carriers retain pricing leverage and shippers absorb the spread between spot and contract rates.