When it comes to freight rates, the international shipping industry has always been a volatile ride. Imagine going up and down the waves of choppy waters in a small boat. Freight rates tend to rise and fall in a similar fashion on waves of greatly varying height, width, and separation in the international shipping market. Many factors can create waves in the market…

The pandemic brought a wave of unprecedented size. One might even call it a tsunami. Largely spurred by lockdowns and stimuli checks, a shipping boom larger than the ports could handle pushed freight rates up and up and up. Of course, the unnatural nature of the boom followed by struggling economy and high inflation finally brought the back half of the wave where freight rates came falling back to sea level. But other events created new waves…

Russian-Ukraine war, wave; Panama Canal drought, wave… and the waves are of various size and impact… attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aiden stopping use of the Suez Canal, big wave; Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse by the Port of Baltimore, small wave…

Those are just some of the splashier events that have affected ocean freight rates. Ultimately, what does it all add up to? What’s happening with freight rates now?

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