---
title: "Freight Market Update: August 23, 2023"
description: "Hurricane Hilary disrupts U.S. intermodal rail; soft export demand globally; FEWB carriers eye September GRI; Brazil peak season lifts LATAM northbound vessel utilization."
language: en
canonical: https://www.flexport.com/global-logistics-update/freight-market-update-august-23-2023/
lifecycle: live
author:
  - "Flexport Editorial"
publishedAt: 2023-08-23T00:00:00.000Z
dateModified: 2026-07-26T13:21:24Z
readingTimeMinutes: 2
topics:
  - "Capacity & Rates"
  - "Disruption Events"
  - "Market Updates"
  - "North America"
  - "North America ↔ Latin America"
  - "Transpacific"
  - "Ocean Freight"
  - "Rail"
---

# Freight Market Update: August 23, 2023

## Trends to Watch

\[Intermodal - U.S.\] Rainfall from Hurricane Hilary has caused the closure of the Union Pacific and BNSF mainline rail between Southern California and Texas. The railroads expect service to be restored by 8/25 but shippers should expect additional delays as rail operations return to normal.

\[U.S. Exports - TPWB/TAEB\] Overall demand remains soft, with carriers not eyeing a bounce back until late Q1’24. Rates continue to be aggressively priced by carriers in order to fill ships as capacity remains broadly available.

\[Ocean - FEWB\] Demand remains flat—high inflation, high inventories, rising energy costs, and geopolitical instability are still impacting the demand on the European side. Carriers are eyeing a potential GRI for sometime in September, and more blank sailings and sliding vessels have been announced for next month as well.

\[Ocean - LATAM Southbound\] Exports overall remain down and ocean carriers have continued to proactively reduce FAK rates in the hopes of attracting new business.

\[Ocean - LATAM Northbound\] Brazil’s peak season usually kicks off in Q3 and although volumes are not at the same level as last year, vessel utilization has started to increase. As a result the three main ocean carriers (CMA, ZIM, MSC) have announced and/or implemented a GRI.

## North America Vessel Dwell Times

![North America vessel dwell times chart — August 23, 2023](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ynj1yl20/development/b9e20d02c43cabb3ead7bf72036bf6f01c9dc7f4-960x540.png)

For more details, please visit Flexport’s Ocean Timeliness and Air Timeliness indicator pages.

---

*This is a markdown version of [https://www.flexport.com/global-logistics-update/freight-market-update-august-23-2023/](https://www.flexport.com/global-logistics-update/freight-market-update-august-23-2023/) for AI/LLM consumption.*