News / 'Stick or twist' – do shippers play the spot market or go for fixed-rate contracts?

Aerial view of Laem chabang cargo container port in evening use

07/01/2022

Volume shippers offered new long-term fixed-rate contracts by container lines are, nevertheless, still keen to keep a foot in the door of the spot market.

The extreme volatility of the spot market saw many shippers get their fingers badly burned over the past 18 months as ...

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Gary Ferrulli
January 07, 2022 at 4:55 pm
What some shippers are hoping for is a return to contract rates being the highest that they pay, spot rates below those a good deal of the time. Not that long ago that spot rates were negative due to fuel surcharges being fixed. Considering the evolution of carriers managing capacity to market sizes going back nearly 3 years, the apparent acceptance of rates at levels never before thought of in the past 20 months, is that “hope” realistic?

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