E2open Ocean Shipping Index Signals Fragile Recovery as New Disruptions Reshape Global Trade

Geopolitical escalation, shifting demand, and downstream bottlenecks are reintroducing volatility across ocean shipping networks.

DALLAS – April 30, 2026 – E2open, part of the WiseTech Global Group (WiseTech), a leading developer and provider of innovative software solutions for the logistics, global trade and supply chain industries worldwide, released its latest Ocean Shipping Index, a quarterly benchmark of global shipping trends. The Q1 2026 report shows ocean shipping entering a renewed phase of disruption, where year-over-year performance gains are proving difficult to sustain amid escalating geopolitical and operational pressures. End-to-end shipment duration averaged 68 days globally during the quarter, up two days over last quarter but still slightly improved year-over-year.

Service reliability is increasingly shaped by compounding disruptions across regions and stages of the shipping lifecycle. Conflict in the Middle East, including the effective closure of key corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz, has disrupted key shipping corridors, triggering service suspensions, booking halts, and emergency surcharges. At the same time, continued security risks in the Red Sea are limiting Suez Canal transits, forcing vessels onto longer routes around southern Africa. Environmental and infrastructure-related challenges, including severe winter storms in Northern Europe, Atlantic weather events, and congestion at major hubs such as Rotterdam, are further constraining operations.

Unlike prior quarters, where disruption was more concentrated, Q1 reflects a broader, more systemic impact on global trade flows. While origin performance has improved across key Asian export hubs, delays are increasingly shifting downstream into booking, transit, and unloading stages. This is creating a more fragmented and less predictable operating environment, where shipments move efficiently at origin but encounter variability later in the journey.

“The pace of disruption is accelerating as pressure builds across every stage of the shipping process,” said Pawan Joshi, Chief Strategy Officer at e2open, part of WiseTech Global Group. “Even where overall performance improves year over year, we’re seeing more variability across booking, transit, and unloading stages. That shift is making execution less predictable and reinforcing the need for organizations to be able to detect, adapt, and respond in real time.”

Highlights from the e2open Ocean Shipping Index report for Q1 2026 include:

• North America to Asia remains the most challenged major trade lane, driven primarily by extended booking lead times, with average end to end transit times reaching 89 days, up three days quarter over quarter and two days year over year. 
• Asia to South America emerged as one of the strongest performing lanes globally, averaging 74 days, one day faster than last quarter and seven days faster year over year, led by meaningful reductions in transit time. 
• North America to South America continues to show meaningful recovery, with transit times improving to an average of 62 days, 11 days faster than last year, despite a modest quarter over quarter increase. South America to North America averaged 54 days from booking to final port gate, unchanged from the previous quarter and 15 days faster than the same period last year, driven by shorter booking-to-load and transit times. 
• Europe to North America experienced the sharpest quarter-over-quarter slowdown among Atlantic trades, with transit times rising four days quarter over quarter due to weaker destination side performance. 
• Several South America-linked trade lanes remain broadly stable overall, though underlying port level performance signals remain mixed, suggesting an uneven recovery across origins.

Overall, the market continues to stabilize but remains sensitive to disruption. Year-over-year improvements across several lanes indicate that the system has largely recovered from prior disruptions. However, the quarter-over-quarter softening highlights the fragility of that progress, as delays shift across different stages of the shipping lifecycle.

The e2open Ocean Shipping Index delivers in-depth analysis and actionable insights to help businesses understand market trends and optimize ocean shipping operations. The quarterly report draws on ocean shipping activity across e2open’s vast network of more than 500,000 connected enterprises, billions of transactions, and over 70 million containers annually. With visibility down to the booking date, the Index offers unique, timely visibility that supports proactive and informed decision-making. E2open customers can book shipments and connect with carriers on one consolidated platform, saving time and eliminating redundant data entry.

Read the full e2open Ocean Shipping Index for additional data points and insights; view and subscribe at e2open.com. This report is one of several benchmark reports from e2open designed to help companies navigate increasingly complex and rapidly evolving global supply chains.

About e2open

E2open, a WiseTech Global Group company, is the connected supply chain software platform that enables the world’s largest companies to transform the way they make, move and sell goods and services. With the broadest cloud-native global platform purpose-built for modern supply chains, e2open connects more than 500,000 manufacturing, logistics, channel and distribution partners as one multi-enterprise network tracking over 18 billion transactions annually. Our SaaS platform anticipates disruptions and opportunities to help companies improve efficiency, reduce waste and operate sustainably. Moving as one™. Learn more: www.e2open.com.

E2open and "Moving as one." are the registered trademarks of E2open, LLC. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

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