News Podcast | Sept 2023 | Back to work: ocean forwarder outlook, liner consolidation - and whither the peak?

In this bumper post-summer episode of The Loadstar Podcast, Mike King is joined by The Loadstar’s Mike Wackett and TAC Index’s Neil Wilson as they catch up on the big stories of late summer. They also dissect air and ocean freight rates, ask whether the shipping peak season has already been and gone, discuss the latest signs of yet more consolidation and examine if El Niño-induced lower water levels on the Panama Canal will disrupt ocean freight markets.

In part 2, Mike gets the views of two of the world’s leading ocean freight forwarders when he’s joined by Stephanie Loomis of Rhenus Logistics and Peter Sundara Swamickannu of Visy Logistics. They look at Asia’s export outlook, US domestic intermodal costs, the threat of union action at USEC ports and how best to define and manage supply chain risk.

Guests:

Stephanie Loomis, head of ocean freight Americas, Rhenus Logistics

Peter Sundara Swamickannu, head of global ocean freight product, Visy Logistics

Neil Wilson, editor, TAC Index

Mike Wackett, sea freight consultant, The Loadstar

Episode in detail:

Part 1 – News, rates and outlook

Hapag Lloyd & HMM: a new liner marriage? (4.14)

Zim and MSC team up (8.33)

Luftie: bucking the air cargo downturn (12.00)

Air cargo rates with TAC Index (13.46)

Xeneta box rates with Mike Wackett (15.52)

Did peak season come early? (18.52)

China macroeconomics (20.59)

US/Europe demand and geopolitical risk (23.13)

Panama Canal surcharges (25.24)

Air cargo outlook (27.19)

Part 2 – Freight forwarder roundtable

Is peak season over? (30.00)

Carrier capacity cuts; too little too late? (33.05)

Liner Golden Week plans and GRIs (36.10)

US inventory levels weigh heavily (37.47)

Panama Canal and false black swans (39.56)

Asian exports forecast and China downturn (49.29)

China+1 and near-sourcing (44.24)

USEC labour action threat (48.49)

Freight outlook – positives and negatives  (51.53)

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Air freight rates data provided by TAC Index – helping clients make the best air freight decisions

Sea freight rates data provided by Xeneta – the shipping industry’s most accurate source of container rates

Created, produced and edited by Mike King