Customer-carrier relations Archives - The Loadstar Making sense of the supply chain Fri, 01 Nov 2024 18:46:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 31889032 ‘Desperate’ GRIs by carriers prop up Asia-Europe spot rates, for now https://theloadstar.com/desperate-gris-by-carriers-prop-up-asia-europe-spot-rates-for-now/ https://theloadstar.com/desperate-gris-by-carriers-prop-up-asia-europe-spot-rates-for-now/#respond Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:39:54 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=284052 Container shipping lines on the main east-west trades this week managed to reverse 15 weeks of consecutive declines in spot freight rates by managing to push through a general rate increase on ex-Asia loadings.
This week’s Drewry World Container Index (WCI) saw the spot rate on the Shanghai-Rotterdam leg rise 8% week on week, to $3,396 per 40ft, while the Shanghai-Genoa leg grew 11%, to $3,648 per 40ft.
One European forwarder told ...

The post ‘Desperate’ GRIs by carriers prop up Asia-Europe spot rates, for now appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/desperate-gris-by-carriers-prop-up-asia-europe-spot-rates-for-now/feed/ 0 284052 Port single windows will cut ‘unfair’ box line levies https://theloadstar.com/port-single-windows-will-cut-unfair-box-line-levies/ https://theloadstar.com/port-single-windows-will-cut-unfair-box-line-levies/#respond Wed, 09 Oct 2024 11:36:04 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=282271 The deployment of digital ‘single windows’ in ports has the potential to bring considerable improvements to shipper and forwarder port-related operations, and vastly reduce the number of unfair or contested container-related charges levied by shipping lines.
Under the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Facilitation Convention (FAL), which entered into force on 1 January this year, it is now mandatory for public authorities to establish, maintain and use single window systems for the ...

The post Port single windows will cut ‘unfair’ box line levies appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/port-single-windows-will-cut-unfair-box-line-levies/feed/ 0 282271 My recipe for success: how Gemini can win the alliance race https://theloadstar.com/my-recipe-for-success-how-gemini-can-win-the-alliance-race/ https://theloadstar.com/my-recipe-for-success-how-gemini-can-win-the-alliance-race/#respond Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:32:13 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=281516 The Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd sales reps will be out in the field in force over the coming months, visiting their key account customers ahead of the transition to the Gemini Cooperation alliance early next year.
The importance of these face-to-face contacts cannot be over emphasised: shippers remain sceptical about the hub-and-spoke transhipment concept of the new vessel-sharing agreement (VSA) and will want to be reassured that the Gemini partners have all ...

The post My recipe for success: how Gemini can win the alliance race appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/my-recipe-for-success-how-gemini-can-win-the-alliance-race/feed/ 0 281516 Have spot rates reached their peak? ‘We’re not out of the woods yet’ https://theloadstar.com/have-spot-rates-reached-their-peak-were-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/ https://theloadstar.com/have-spot-rates-reached-their-peak-were-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/#respond Tue, 16 Jul 2024 12:08:44 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=276624 There are tentative signs that soaring container spot rates may be coming to an end – early data this week suggests pricing may be beginning to level off.
Data released yesterday by Xeneta indicated that average spot rates from the Far East to the US East Coast increased 3.7% on 15 July, to $10,045 per feu, and spot rates into the US West Coast rose 2%, to stand at $8,045 per ...

The post Have spot rates reached their peak? ‘We’re not out of the woods yet’ appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/have-spot-rates-reached-their-peak-were-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/feed/ 0 276624 Shippers should expect more Asia-Europe blanked sailings as rates rise https://theloadstar.com/shippers-should-expect-more-asia-europe-blanked-sailings-as-rates-rise/ https://theloadstar.com/shippers-should-expect-more-asia-europe-blanked-sailings-as-rates-rise/#respond Wed, 29 May 2024 13:08:47 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=273055 It was just over a month ago that forwarders began to realise significant disruption was on the way for the Asia-North Europe trade – a sudden surge in demand led to tight space, combined with the beginning of spot rates’ rapid rise.
However, it also appears to have caught carriers off guard as well, as data obtained from the eeSea liner database shows that capacity reductions on the trade in April ...

The post Shippers should expect more Asia-Europe blanked sailings as rates rise appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/shippers-should-expect-more-asia-europe-blanked-sailings-as-rates-rise/feed/ 0 273055 Transpacific trade – follow my lead https://theloadstar.com/transpacific-trade-follow-my-lead/ https://theloadstar.com/transpacific-trade-follow-my-lead/#respond Wed, 29 May 2024 11:25:49 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=273000 If a picture is worth a thousand words, let’s start with this recent gem of a chart from the Journal of Commerce (JOC), which shows who’s taking the winnings from the transpacific volume and rate increases – carriers or forwarders?
Obvs, it’s the carriers.
Has it always been thus?
Nope.
So…
I would love to be able to tell you that the respective market share of carriers and forwarders correlate to changes in demand or ...

The post Transpacific trade – follow my lead appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/transpacific-trade-follow-my-lead/feed/ 0 273000 Shipper fury as spot rates soar – and box lines ignore contracts https://theloadstar.com/shipper-fury-as-spot-rates-soar-and-box-lines-ignore-contracts/ https://theloadstar.com/shipper-fury-as-spot-rates-soar-and-box-lines-ignore-contracts/#comments Fri, 24 May 2024 12:59:36 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=272789 The sense of genuine anger amongst North European shippers and freight forwarders was palpable this week as they struggled to digest rapidly escalating spot freight rates.
The ascent steepened over recent weeks, with Drewry’s WCI Shanghai-Rotterdam leg rising 20% week-on-week to finish at $4,999 per 40ft.
However, sources told The Loadstar that slots were being purchased at much higher levels.
“Real terms rates for spot are in the $6,000-$7,500 mark, with carriers saying ...

The post Shipper fury as spot rates soar – and box lines ignore contracts appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/shipper-fury-as-spot-rates-soar-and-box-lines-ignore-contracts/feed/ 3 272789 Shipper frustration as spot rates rise alongside demand, and cargo is rolled https://theloadstar.com/shipper-frustration-as-spot-rates-rise-alongside-demand-and-cargo-is-rolled/ https://theloadstar.com/shipper-frustration-as-spot-rates-rise-alongside-demand-and-cargo-is-rolled/#respond Fri, 03 May 2024 12:34:11 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=271068 A strengthening demand scenario on the Asia-European trades appears to have caught carriers and forwarders by surprise, and tightening space has increased the chances of shipments moving under long-term contracts being rolled.
“My inbox started to blow up towards the end of last week, with customers having problems with their allocations,” one European forwarder told The Loadstar.
“The problem is that contract rates are well below spot rates and when that happens ...

The post Shipper frustration as spot rates rise alongside demand, and cargo is rolled appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/shipper-frustration-as-spot-rates-rise-alongside-demand-and-cargo-is-rolled/feed/ 0 271068 TPM 24: To hub-and-spoke, or not to hub-and-spoke? That is the question https://theloadstar.com/to-hub-and-spoke-or-not-to-hub-and-spoke-that-is-the-question/ https://theloadstar.com/to-hub-and-spoke-or-not-to-hub-and-spoke-that-is-the-question/#respond Thu, 07 Mar 2024 11:59:47 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=266724 The question of rates and annual contracts – and the effects of the Red Sea crisis on both – may have dominated discussions at this week’s TPM24 conference in Long Beach, but another persistent source of controversy has been the hub-and-spoke transhipment concept introduced by the Gemini Cooperation.

Listen to this clip from The Loadstar Podcast at TPM24 discussing the forthcoming shake-up of the alliance system:

https://episodes.castos.com/61e078fee345f1-77268395/1682011/c1e-knpg6fjz1x5h94rxn-5rvm4x2juz0o-ob2n92.mp3
 

The sales pitch outlined by Hapag-Lloyd ...

The post TPM 24: To hub-and-spoke, or not to hub-and-spoke? That is the question appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/to-hub-and-spoke-or-not-to-hub-and-spoke-that-is-the-question/feed/ 0 266724 Contracts: carrier vs shipper – the last one standing? https://theloadstar.com/contracts-carrier-vs-shipper-the-last-one-standing/ https://theloadstar.com/contracts-carrier-vs-shipper-the-last-one-standing/#respond Tue, 06 Feb 2024 12:46:01 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=264474 “Ocean contract rates stopped declining in January; but will high spot rates lift contract rates?” – Drewry’s Philip Damas, 5 February 2024.
That was a timely take that touched upon one of the most critical elements in the current market for ocean carriers and their shippers… sorry, partners… ahead of negotiations for new sea freight contracts.
Now
Rewind for a moment*.
(*We already flagged part of the excerpt that follows on 19 December, in ...

The post Contracts: carrier vs shipper – the last one standing? appeared first on The Loadstar.

]]> https://theloadstar.com/contracts-carrier-vs-shipper-the-last-one-standing/feed/ 0 264474