Hormuz Strait disruptions hit container shipping as booking cancellations surge

zdjęcie ilustracyjne / fot. Donnee Creations / pixabay

China and Japan, as the largest direct buyers of crude oil from the Persian Gulf, are among the most vulnerable. The report also points to potential impacts on India, South Korea and Thailand, as well as Southeast Asian economies including Chinese Taipei, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Dun & Bradstreet notes that the first economic effects of disruptions in the Gulf are likely to be felt in the upstream energy sector before spreading across a broad range of industries, including services, energy, chemicals, transport, construction and manufacturing.

Beyond energy commodities, the Persian Gulf region also functions as a major hub for global trade, capital allocation and investment. As a result, disruptions to shipping routes may affect wholesale and retail trade, real estate, financial services and the public sector. In the short term, companies may face difficulties in stockpiling goods, delays in capital expenditure (capex) and rising financial pressures.

Shipping data collected by Dun & Bradstreet shows a sharp deterioration in container booking activity related to shipments transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Import booking cancellations have reached their highest levels since 2024.

On 1 March, 3,072 TEU of import bookings were cancelled while only 811 TEU were newly booked. On 2 March, cancellations rose to 11,865 TEU while confirmed bookings reached 7,653 TEU.

The situation worsened further on 3 March, when cancellations surged to 21,762 TEU compared with just 1,915 TEU in confirmed bookings. This marked the lowest weekday booking volume since 2024, while the number of cancelled bookings was more than double the highest daily level recorded since the beginning of 2024.

Overall, between 1 and 3 March, the volume of import bookings dropped by 59% compared with the previous week, while cancellations surged by 364%.

Export activity has also weakened significantly. Since mid-February, confirmed export bookings have fallen by more than 40%, dropping from 34,790 TEU on 15 February to 19,863 TEU on 3 March.

On 3 March, only 1,095 TEU of cargo departing from the Strait of Hormuz region were registered, while 1,319 TEU were cancelled. According to Dun & Bradstreet data, this was the first time on record that cancelled export volumes exceeded confirmed outbound shipments from the Persian Gulf on a single day.

Between 1 and 3 March, export booking volumes declined by 40% week-on-week, while export cancellations increased by 56%.

For the purposes of the analysis, shipments transiting the Strait of Hormuz are defined as those where one of the ports – either loading or discharge – is located in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain or the Saudi ports of Dammam or Jubail, while the other port is located outside the region.