Daily Cross-Border E-Commerce Briefing | October 17, 2025

1. Container Rates Rebound: Drewry WCI Ends 17-Week Slide, Up 2% to $1,687/FEU
  • Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) for the week of October 16 ticked up 2% to $1,687 per 40’ container, marking the first increase after 17 consecutive weekly declines. For one-piece dropship sellers, a turning point in ocean rates tends to ripple into small-parcel costs via feeder schedules, transshipment windows, and airline capacity pricing. Act now by (1) adding a 2%–5% freight buffer into pricing for Q4 peaks; (2) publishing a concise “Duties, Taxes & Surcharges” explainer on PDP/checkout to pre-empt disputes; and (3) negotiating quotes that lock mainlane rates while allowing feeder variability to capture any regional softening.
    Source: Drewry, Published on: October 16, 2025
2. Belgium’s Antwerp-Bruges Congestion Persists After Pilots’ Strike, Slowing Jet/Diesel Flows
  • Analysts report ongoing congestion at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges following a harbor pilots’ strike, with operations running at ~70% capacity and nearly 200 vessels facing delays. Because Antwerp is a key entry point for refined fuels into Europe, trucking and last-mile networks can feel knock-on effects when bunker and road fuel supply tightens. Independent stores shipping to the EU should (a) present two delivery tiers (Standard vs. Expedited) with realistic lead times; (b) route urgent SKUs to less-impacted gateways; and (c) keep a live banner for destination-specific delays to reduce WISMO tickets and chargebacks.
    Source: Reuters, Published on: October 16, 2025
3. Maersk Adds Thailand “Drop-Off Charge” (Imports) From Nov 15 Price Date—Plan for Cost Pass-Through
  • Maersk introduced a Drop-Off Charge for import containers into Thailand (effective Price Calculation Date Nov 15). While this is a B2B container fee, it can filter into small-parcel landed costs where suppliers or consolidators rely on Thai nodes before export. If your sourcing/testing flow touches Thailand, build a surcharge pass-through in RFQs and keep checkout copy clear that fuel/port surcharges may adjust weekly or by lane.
    Source: Maersk, Published on: October 16, 2025
4. PayPal & Venmo Suffer Global Outage on Oct 16—Add Fallback Payments and On-Site Error Copy
  • A widespread disruption on October 16 temporarily affected PayPal and Venmo logins, transfers, and business features before recovery. Stores relying on a single wallet risk conversion loss during provider downtime. Action items: enable at least one fallback (card/local wallet), show a human-readable retry message when wallet calls fail, and keep a “Try another method” CTA prominent on checkout modals.
    Source: TechRadar, Published on: October 16, 2025
5. SHOPLINE Gets MAS In-Principle Approval for Major Payment Institution License—SEA Wallet Coverage to Broaden
  • SHOPLINE received In-Principle Approval from Singapore’s central bank (MAS) for an MPI license, paving the way for account issuance, domestic and cross-border transfers, merchant acquisition, and e-money issuance. Sellers targeting Singapore/Malaysia can expect deeper local-wallet integrations and compliant settlement flows—useful for raising checkout conversion and lowering COD reliance.
    Source: TechNode Global, Published on: October 17, 2025
6 . Global Port Watch: Antwerp Backlog, Veracruz Flooding—Build Lane-Level Delay Notices
  • Freight forwarder updates on October 16 flag continued port operation challenges including Antwerp’s backlog and weather-linked disruption in Mexico’s Veracruz. For one-piece sellers, publishing a living “Service Alerts” block (destination-specific delays, affected couriers, and suggested shipping options) can cut WISMO tickets and improve CSAT during peak volatility.
    Source: Kuehne+Nagel, Published on: October 16, 2025