Shippers, get ready for the freight rate war saga of the ocean carriers to continue. Perhaps the biggest reason for shippers to pay attention to what’s happening with carriers is because it directly affects how much importers and exporters pay for their international shipping.

One of the first analysts to predict the breakup of the 2M Alliance now thinks the Ocean Alliance could be the “next domino to fall.”

In Universal Cargo’s last blog post, about the sword of Damocles hanging over ocean freight carriers, I talked about how dangerous it could be for shipping lines if they fall into freight rate wars. The prominent analyst mentioned above says with the plummeting freight rates we’re seeing, carriers are already in a rate war. And if what he says about China’s massive shipping line is right, COSCO, the fourth largest carrier in the world, could be a fateful warrior that brings down one of the two major alliances remaining after Maersk and MSC announced the splitting of their alliance.

The analyst is Lars Jensen, CEO and Partner at Vespucci Maritime. In a Journal of Commerce (JOC) article, Mechael Angell reported on Jensen speaking at the JOC’s TPM23 conference in Long Beach. Jensen had a great deal to say about the industry that is facing an uncertain moment, but what he said about COSCO and the Ocean Alliance really stands out with its potential ramifications.

Find out more by reading the full post in Universal Cargo’s blog.