Ocean freight is an intrinsically volatile market. Whether from recent examples like the Red Sea crisis and the pandemic, or recurring drivers like peak season congestion or periods of overcapacity, ocean contracts continually experience breaches or expensive renegotiations exactly when they are needed most.
Findings from Freightos surveys of BCOs and forwarders in 2021 and again in late 2023 demonstrate this trend. The surveys also showed widespread BCO attempts to adjust their contracting behavior as a result, demonstrating that the industry is hungry for better contracts. At the same time, more reliable rate indices are enabling index-linked contracts and derivatives for container freight – tools already widely used in other industries to provide reliability and manage risk.
Watch the recording from our recent webinar exploring this topic which will include:
- Judah Levine, Freightos Head of Research, presenting the key findings from this recent research.
- Phoebus Kaloudis, Head of Business Development at SSY, sharing insights on bulk shipping’s widespread shift to derivatives more than a decade ago, and what these could mean for ocean freight.
- Peter Stallion, Head of Container Freight Futures at Braemar, discussing the mechanics and state of index-linking and Forward Freight Agreements for the container market.
