News / Over-inflated retail inventories could contribute to deflating freight markets

23/01/2025

Freight markets are expected to soften – not least because of high inventory levels.

According to data from the US Census Bureau, retail inventories are on the rise. In fact, according to Sea-Intelligence, November inventory reached $30.2bn higher than the norm.

“The upward spike in July-August 2024 is not only very visible, but also the largest upwards deviation we have seen since the financial crisis,” explained Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.

“The largest deviation was seen in September, at an excess of 3.1%, ...