Hapag‑Lloyd halts Manila bookings through year‑end amid empties backlog

Market Context & Direct Impact

Hapag-Lloyd has closed new bookings to three Philippine gateways, and the freeze runs into the year-end peak. The German carrier stopped taking bookings to Manila, Batangas and Subic Bay from every origin and trade lane on 29 September, citing severe limits on container returns. The pause is set to last through the end of December unless conditions change sharply. Splash reports that Hapag-Lloyd is the only major liner known to have imposed a suspension this sweeping, while CMA CGM's two weeks of blank sailings on its BMX service were attributed to vessel redeployment rather than congestion.

Empty boxes, not berths alone, are driving the Manila squeeze. A Loadstar report describes a three-day trucking strike, with customs brokers and hauliers halting work after carriers left empties at the terminals. The broker alliance chair says only 10% of volumes are leaving Manila's ports. Splash reports that some operators have waited as long as 40 days to return empty boxes, and Hapag-Lloyd puts Manila vessel waits at two to four days for scheduled arrivals, against below 12 hours at Subic Bay. The Philippine customs commissioner has proposed moving boxes waiting more than 10 days offsite.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Booking freeze exposureShippers with Philippine lanes should confirm whether their cargo sits behind the Hapag-Lloyd suspension before peak bookings are committed.
• Returns set the paceEquipment return capacity is the binding constraint here, so berth performance alone will not show the real delay.
• Carrier cascade riskPhilippine analysts at AB Capital warn that other carriers following Hapag-Lloyd could widen this into a broader trade disruption.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Audit Philippine lanes now

   Pull every booking to Manila, Batangas and Subic Bay, flag cargo that a suspension would strand, and pre-agree alternate gateways with carriers and forwarders for each affected lane.

2. 2
   Secure empty return buffers

   Reserve depot slots and chassis for empties and set a trigger for when drivers face long return queues, since some operators have already waited for weeks.

Filed 15:34 GMT, 14 October 2026, for the second edition of 14 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. Hapag-Lloyd suspends bookings to three Philippine ports as container crisis deepensSplash247, published 12 October 2026
2. Empty box pile-up at port of Manila sparks truckers' strikeThe Loadstar, published 5 October 2026

Claims ledger: 9 facts and where each comes from

• Hapag-Lloyd stopped accepting bookings to Manila, Batangas and Subic Bay from all origins and across every trade lane on September 29, citing severe constraints on container returns.¹
• The suspension is set to remain until the end of December, according to Splash.¹
• Hapag-Lloyd is the only major liner known to have introduced a suspension this sweeping; CMA CGM's two weeks of blank sailings on its BMX service were attributed to vessel redeployment rather than congestion.¹
• Some truck operators have waited as long as 40 days to return empty boxes, per the Confederation of Truckers Associations of the Philippines.¹
• Hapag-Lloyd reports Manila vessel waiting times of two to four days for scheduled arrivals and four to seven days for ships missing their berthing windows, while Subic Bay waiting times remain below 12 hours.¹
• Philippine investment analysts at AB Capital warned that the bigger risk is other carriers following Hapag-Lloyd's lead.¹
• A three-day trucking strike in Manila was expected to begin with customs brokers and hauliers voluntarily stopping work, as a year-long standoff over carriers failing to remove empties reached its limit.²
• Only 10% of volumes were moving out of Manila's ports, with empties scattered around terminals, hauliers' yards and flatbeds in the thousands, according to the chair of the Practicing Customs Brokers and Port Truckers Alliance.²
• The Bureau of Customs commissioner suggested that boxes waiting more than 10 days be moved offsite.²

Every figure above is tied to a cited source that was checked on the day of filing. Found an error? Tell the desk.