Peak Season Surcharge: The Tender Clause That Decides It

On 31 August 2026 Maersk published a peak season surcharge revision for Far East Asia to India and Pakistan, one of several PSS notices ahead of the fourth quarter. Many freight teams read the notice, check the lane, and wait for the line to appear on an invoice, which works for spotting the charge. It does not tell you whether the charge was yours to pay, because that was decided earlier, in the wording of the tender.

Maersk's notice sets USD 2,000 per 40-foot and 45-foot container from Far East Asia to Pipavav, Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Pakistan, effective 15 September 2026 (18 September from South Korea), until further notice, and not applicable to spot bookings. Container News reported on 31 July 2026 that Hapag-Lloyd would apply a PSS of USD 2,000 per container from the Indian Subcontinent, Pakistan and Jeddah to North America for sailings tariffing on or after 1 September 2026, alongside a rate increase of the same amount. Maersk's Europe Market Update of 9 September 2026 describes the backdrop: congestion at North Europe and Mediterranean gateways, industrial action at German terminals, Golden Week closures in early October and strong demand ahead of the year-end peak.

The levels move both ways. The Loadstar reported on 16 June 2026 that Maersk would charge USD 750 per TEU from Far East Asia to North Europe and the Mediterranean from 7 July 2026; Maersk's notice of 12 August 2026 withdrew PSS on that scope from 1 September 2026. Every figure in this post is a dated example, not a current rate.

Can a carrier add a peak season surcharge mid-contract?

Whether a PSS can be billed on top of a contracted rate depends on the contract terms, any tariff incorporated into it and the governing law. The clause that usually decides it is the one describing what the rate includes, and three common wordings tend to produce three different outcomes.

A peak season surcharge (PSS, in German a Hochsaisonzuschlag) is a temporary charge a carrier adds in periods of high demand, typically per container or per TEU and usually stated as valid until further notice. Contracts tend to handle it in one of these ways:

These are typical differences. The same words can be read differently under Swiss, German or English law, and a filed tariff can take precedence on regulated trades: Maersk's 12 August 2026 notice refers traders under the US Shipping Act or China's maritime regulations to their filed service contracts.

How does a freight tender settle what a surcharge clause allows?

A freight tender settles the question by writing down, before award, which charges the rate covers, which named surcharges may be added, on what basis and trigger, and what happens when a carrier publishes a charge on neither list. Once written, a PSS notice becomes a document to compare against the contract rather than a decision under time pressure.

When nothing is written, the outcome looks like this. On one ocean invoice we audited from August 2026, a peak season charge of USD 1,000 sat on a single 40-foot container next to USD 3,345 of base freight, nearly 30 percent on top. The rate card priced other charges on the same invoice, and they matched; it said nothing about a PSS, so there was nothing to hold that line against.

A clause that avoids that outcome usually needs four elements: what the rate includes for the validity period; a closed list of surcharges that may be added, each with its basis (per TEU, per container, percentage of freight) and trigger (an index level, a dated carrier notice); a notice period in days before a new charge applies to contract bookings; and which document governs when notice and contract disagree. Whether a carrier accepts each element varies by trade and season. The freight RFQ is the point in the cycle where the answer carries a price.

How do you compare bids on all-in cost in freight rate management?

Bids are compared on all-in cost by breaking each one into base freight, the named surcharges it allows, accessorials and exclusions, then pricing every bid against the same shipment profile and surcharge scenario. A bid with a lower base and an open clause can cost more over the contract than a higher all-in offer, and the comparison only shows that if the clause is priced.

In practice that means a carrier bid comparison with three columns per lane: the base rate as quoted; the named surcharges at the carrier's latest published levels, with effective dates; and a peak-season scenario adding the carrier's latest PSS on that trade for the months it usually runs. For a Far East Asia to India lane, Maersk's 15 September 2026 level of USD 2,000 per 40-foot is the kind of dated input that scenario uses. Transportation procurement teams who run it this way often find the ranking changes on some lanes, moved by the clause rather than the base rate.

Why does the tender wording never reach invoice approval?

The tender wording rarely reaches approval because the person approving the invoice usually has the carrier's notice in front of them and not the contract, and the notice looks complete: a scope, an amount, an effective date. The missing check is whether the contract lets the notice reach this shipment.

Three process gaps explain most of it. The clause sits in a tender document finance never sees. Rate cards are often loaded as base rates with the surcharge wording left out, so a rule-based check has no field to compare against. And PSS notices arrive by email to the logistics inbox, so the notice becomes the reference by default. The same gap can let a war risk surcharge line through. A PSS line is evidence that the carrier applied one, not proof that it was payable; the contract, the tariff and the notice together decide that.

What can you do before the next PSS notice?

Our RFQ module is built for the third step: it compares carrier bids on what they will actually cost rather than on the quoted base rate, with the surcharges each bid allows simulated alongside the freight. That gives a tender team a view of a PSS clause before award, the way a freight audit gives one after the invoice.