Maersk has announced two new surcharges: peak seasonal — up to $1,000 per container for shipments from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay from October 8, 2026, and emergency fuel — for door-to-door delivery in the Baltic States and Scandinavia from September 9, 2026. Importers and exporters working with these regions should recalculate their logistics budgets in advance.
From October 8, 2026, Maersk will introduce Peak Season Surge (PSS) on all dry cargo containers shipped from Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. The amount of the surcharge depends on the destination: $1,000 per container for shipments to the West Coast of South America, $500 for the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of the United States. There are no restrictions on the size of the container: the surcharge applies to all dry cargo units. The reference date is the Price Calculation Date (PCD) according to the Maersk rules.
In addition to PSS, the carrier introduces an emergency fuel surcharge for Store Door delivery in several Scandinavian and Baltic markets. It comes into force on September 9, 2026 and is valid until a separate notification. The reason is the rising cost of fuel due to supply disruptions from the Middle East.
The surcharge rates vary significantly by country. Estonia received the maximum coefficient — 20%, Denmark — 13%, Latvia — 12%, Sweden - 9%, Finland — 5%, Lithuania — 4%. For Norway, Maersk recorded 0%. Electric trucks and railway solutions are not covered by the surcharge. The carrier will review the percentage values weekly as the market situation changes.
For companies importing goods from the Southern Cone countries or organizing multimodal chains through Scandinavian hubs, both Maersk solutions directly affect the cost of the batch. The $1,000 surcharge on a container from Argentina or Brazil for regular shipments turns into a tangible expense item as early as the fourth quarter of 2026. The fuel surcharge in Estonia of 20% is critical for those who use warehouses in the Baltic States as a transit hub in supply chains.
Maersk reserves the right to apply additional local and contingency fees on top of the advertised surcharges. It makes sense for companies concluding long-term freight contracts in the affected areas to fix the conditions before the allowances come into force or to provide in the contracts a mechanism for reviewing the price when the fuel index changes.
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