A wave of container spot rate rises amid peak season and tight capacity
Peak season is now fully under way, after a week in which spot rates on ...
© Vchalup
Today’s “absolutely nuts” container shipping market will spur contract renegotiations, as rates and minimum quantity commitments (MQCs) are questioned, according to Patrik Berglund, CEO of Xeneta.
“Disruption has been constant for the past six years. It’s one thing after another,” said Mr Burgland.
And as a recent Loadstar Premium report highlighted, “the colossal waves of uncertainty couldn’t come at a more unfortunate time”.
“April is traditionally annual contract signing season, when most shippers and their carriers conclude pricing and volume commitments for the next 12 months,” explained Premium.
Mr Burglund said the US tariff increases and pauses that had stifled demand, paired with ocean liners’ aggressive thirst for tonnage over recent years, had left him “concerned for carriers”.
He warned that when the market was in turmoil, “carriers tend to be opportunistic”, and that as the rift widened between supply and demand, liner operators would keep rates from bottoming by bringing in surcharges.
“There have been attempts to keep rates from bottoming, with small regular rate increases, but they’ve felt artificial,” said Mr Burglund.
Indeed, yesterday Maersk announced a peak season surcharge (PSS) from Far East Asia, excluding China & Hong Kong, to the US and Canada, effective from 15 May of $1,000 per teu. And the Danish carrier will charge $500 per teu on cargo from Turkey and Egypt to the US and Canada.
Earlier this week, Hapag-Lloyd announced a general rate increase (GRI) of $500 per teu from Asia to Latin America, effective 22 April, and on Monday, MSC announced a PSS of $800 per teu on North Europe to US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, from 13 May.
Fabio Brocca, chief product officer at Xeneta, advised that on many trades, shippers would be able to make savings by sticking to the spot market.
But CEO of Sea-Intelligence Alan Murphy told The Loadstar Premium: “The spot market is bound to be a wild ride in 2025, but at the moment, just based on the tariff madness, I don’t know the direction it’ll move.”
Xeneta predicted that there would be “lots of renegotiating of contracts made over the past two quarters”, while Mr Brocca added that shippers would need to reassess if they were able to provide their MQCs.
Comment on this article
Makarand Shirgaokar
April 18, 2025 at 9:04 amThis piece does a great job of capturing the current turbulence in the container shipping landscape. With macroeconomic headwinds, geopolitical tensions, and persistent supply-demand imbalances, traditional contract models are being tested. Shippers are caught between volatile spot markets and rigid MQC-based contracts, leading to growing pressure for renegotiations. Carriers, on the other hand, are resorting to surcharges and GRIs to prevent rates from bottoming out, which only adds to the uncertainty. As we head into what’s traditionally contract renewal season, flexibility and real-time market visibility will be essential for both shippers and carriers to navigate the months ahead.
Rajeev Kathuria
May 11, 2025 at 3:27 pmSurcharges are like “speed breaker” on the straight fall is an intriguing one. The idea seems to be to slow or control a precipitous drop in base freight rates, much like a physical speed breaker controls the velocity of a vehicle. A mechanism like this would help stabilize the market by preventing rapid downward adjustments that might destabilize both carrier margins and overall service reliability. Think of it as a regulatory or industry-standard safeguard—a controlled deceleration of rate changes —that could be structured, for instance, as a rule preventing base rates from decreasing faster than a fixed percentage within a given period.