You try to book a container out of China. Normal day, normal shipment. Then the rate comes back $600 higher than last week. No warning. No explanation. Just more.
You are not going crazy. The carriers are doing it again.
Blank sailings are back in a big way. A blank sailing is basically when a shipping line quietly decides to cancel a voyage. Poof. Gone. No ship, no space, no heads-up. Right now, in May 2026, they are happening more often than April. A lot more, honestly.
Here is what should be making bigger headlines: cargo volumes are actually down. Noticeably down. And yet rates are going up. That feels backward. It’s kind of is. But once you see what the carriers are doing, it starts to make a strange kind of sense.
The Carrier Playbook
The big shipping lines got burned badly in 2023. Rates collapsed. Margins got crushed. They hated every second of it.
This time, they are not waiting. Instead of letting demand fall first, they are pulling ships off routes early, on purpose, before things go soft. They are shrinking available space so whatever demand is left has to fight over fewer slots. A supply squeeze, manufactured from the top down.
The numbers back it up. Trans-Pacific East Coast rates have climbed close to $3,800 per FEU. Direct China-to-LA routes are now being rerouted through Busan, South Korea, adding unplanned days to your transit. Sometimes without any warning until it is already happening.
For Miami importers, this hits twice. Your landed cost goes up. Your delivery window, the one you promised your buyer, becomes a lot less reliable. Your customers do not particularly care about vessel deployment schedules.
What the Smart Money Is Doing Right Now
Here is what separates importers who are handling this from the ones pulling their hair out: contracts.
Businesses that locked in FCL contracts before the latest General Rate Increases landed are sitting in a much better spot. Not perfect, but better. The ones still shopping spot rates every week? That market right now is about as stable as a paper boat in a rainstorm.
If your volumes are smaller, LCL consolidation is genuinely worth a hard look. You share space, you share cost, and you are not stuck paying for a half-empty box just because rates spiked. Not glamorous advice. But it works.
How GM International Freight Forwarders Corp Keeps You Moving
GM International Freight Forwarders Corp has been doing this out of Miami for over 20 years. Blank sailings are not a new problem here. They are just a variable we plan around.
As a licensed NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder, we work with multiple carriers across every major trade lane. Not just one. Not just whoever has the cheapest rate today.
Carrier Diversification
When one carrier cancels, we already have options ready. Your shipment does not sit orphaned for three weeks waiting on the next available slot.
LCL Consolidation
We pull smaller shipments together so you are not overpaying during a rate spike. Cargo keeps moving. Budget stays intact.
Real-Time Routing
If Busan is adding five days you do not have, we find another way. The goal is always your actual delivery window, not just the path of least paperwork.
The carriers are playing a long game. Patient, organized, and they have a lot of ships. The only move that works for importers right now is having someone in your corner who is paying equal attention.
Make sure your freight forwarder is playing chess too.