Shippers welcome new ocean capacity, but it won't stop price increases
In the absence of carrier-led price hikes, container spot rates largely flattened on the transpacific ...
What? You want us to put them on ships? Photo by Marco Bianchetti.
By Mike Weir
Not so long ago, container lines competed with each other on price, with disastrous results.
The well documented race to the bottom on pricing, and race to the top on ship-building, dovetailed with the 2008 financial crisis, sending the industry into a tailspin.
Fast forward a few years to another crisis and the carriers are in better shape, having cut capacity dramatically.
Couple that, though, with the big answer to yesterday’s problems – clubbing together to form alliances – and uncomfortable questions arise.
Chief ...
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