News / Forwarders 'allowing the fox into the chicken run' by supporting 'hungry' carriers

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Forwarders are “allowing the fox into the chicken run” by supporting carriers that also work directly with shippers, according to global development director of CargoGulf Hans-Henrik Nielsen. 

The Loadstar has previously reported on Danish carrier Maersk’s ambitions to become an integrator.  

Responding to a question from The Loadstar on the eve of a naming event for its latest methanol-fuelled vessel in Rotterdam, Maersk North Europe MD Ole Trumpfheller said Maersk was bidding for the same volumes in the logistics business as forwarders, and described it as “healthy competition”. 

Asked if the carrier was trying to squeeze forwarders out of the logistics business, Mr Trumpfheller replied “yes”, but Maersk assured it had a significant footprint with ocean forwarders and “wants to keep the current share of forwarder cargo on [its] vessels”.  

And Mr Nielsen asked: “If Maersk clearly states that they are going after the forwarder client base, why would you allow the fox into the chicken run and give Maersk access to all your client data?” 

He predicted that “sooner or later” the retail client would see less need for a forwarder if they were able go to a carrier directly. He said: “Then what happens? The forwarder complains that the carrier is poaching their clients. They will reply, ‘that is not true – your client called us directly’…

“Then the forwarder will become irrelevant.” 

Mr Nielsen said that “over the last 20 years, Maersk has had a passive-aggressive position towards freight forwarders”, which behaviour, he added, was not exclusive to Maersk and also applied to other large carriers – “CMA CGM in particular”.  

“If they are fully booked, they do not need forwarders and hike up rates or even decline bookings. Then, whenever they run into trouble and are not fully booked, they have been forced to eat humble pie, lowered the rates and accepted forwarder bookings again,” he told The Loadstar. 

Indeed, at TPM25 by S&P Global, head of ocean freight Americas at Rhenus Logistics Stehpanie Loomis said: “From a forwarder’s perspective, when the market is tough and the carriers need volume, the forwarders are their best friends. And as soon as it gets tense and tight, and there’s not as much space to go around, then it becomes important that you’re big enough.” 

Mr Nielsen added: “Forwarders have been dumb enough to jump back on the wagon and support Maersk.”

He warned that the current consolidation and growth among the major container lines was “worrying”, and added: “I see a huge downside for forwarders, and shippers should be concerned”.  

But while Maersk, along with nine other large container lines, control the majority of the global container shipping market, Mr Nielsen said forwarders still had a choice.  

“There are still plenty of smaller operators or a combination of NVOCC/feeder, like our hybrid liner version, in many markets – perhaps not all, but you have to start somewhere.  I would say that a lot of the Asian liner operators are better choices, from a forwarder’s perspective,” he said. 

Mr Nielsen added that CargoGulf’s liner service ran on “the clear premise that our only client base is the freight forwarding community”.

“We do not compete with our clients. We have zero retail customers,” he said.  

However, Mr Nielsen noted that many forwarders “pull rates off larger carrier booking platforms” and use that to “squeeze” smaller carriers into offering lower rates. 

“Next time one of our clients shows a portal quote to one of our sales reps, we will withdraw the “named account” rate as well. I don’t like to get played,” he said.