Dismay has been spreading among shippers in recent weeks as they watched shipment after shipment “rolled” to later vessels than scheduled, even after agreeing to carrier rate hikes in January that should have guaranteed them space. While … cargo backlogs are a temporary phenomenon, the bedlam at Asian ports could have a lasting impact on importers who will begin service contract negotiations with carriers soon. Those talks should be more intense than any in recent memory. Carriers are determined to increase freight rates, and the specter of another round of congestion during the summer-fall peak shipping season could convince importers that a repeat of last year’s low freight rates would force carriers to cut capacity again.
