Trade growth getting stronger, but ocean freight rates stay flattish
While rates on the transpacific continued to soften, and Asia-Europe trades showed marginal gains, the ...
In an age where flexible pricing is becoming the norm (Uber, petrol stations, passenger air fares), why does the cargo industry still stick to published rates – and rate increases? That’s the question posed by Mark Grinsted on CargoForwarder. And it’s a good question. As the annual autumn rate hike starts, he notes that in reality, spot rates are “the essence of the business”, and that works well for capacity – which is perishable and very much at the mercy of supply and demand. He also switches it around: how would you feel about a supermarket that suddenly put all its prices up 5-10%, saying they want better margins? You’d probably shop elsewhere. While he acknowledges the system may help forwarders put up their rates, he reckons it’s mostly done for tradition – not a worthwhile cause modern day. He urges the industry to come up with some new ideas next year, and cut out some of the time-wasting involved in creating the published rates. A provocative read.
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