Ocean Freight Shipping Alert: Market Demand Expected to Keep Rising

Spike impact of COVID-19

COVID has created a spike in market demand for goods and ocean forwarders, which hasn’t let up. This has created congestion in the shipping industry and ocean logistics, resulting in high rates and delayed shipments. Therefore, all ocean freight shipping parties need to know about the top 4 drivers of rate instability through the rest of the year. 

What has made contract transportation in 2022 even more complex? 

Thanks to the ongoing pandemic, uncertainty and labour shortages have created a problematic situation for ocean forwarders, ocean freight shipping and contracting. Ocean forwarders work under contracts even though they’ve become far more expensive than in the past few years. Shippers need to think about the net worth of the contents in the container and the economic trade-offs between high rates and supply-chain disruptions to come to a balance. Thanks to the current complexity and uncertainty in the ocean freight shipping industry, an enforceable and firm contract must be implemented to foster a more stabilised situation. To enforce a contract, shippers must sign strict take-or-pay agreements to ensure that capacity from ocean carriers and forwarders will be available. 

Cutting down on back-office strains and maximising throughput 

Ocean freight forwarders are under a lot of pressure thanks to the congestion in the current freight market. The “new normal” remains across the supply chain industry, as ocean forwarders try to create better freight forwarding services and increase revenue. It is necessary to stay aware of the uncertainties and happenings that impact freight forwarding and remain responsive and agile when faced with the unknown. Ocean forwarders must implement technology and back office programs to help your business tremendously. Using automated management maximises throughput and reduces tedious work. This technology can help you track cargo, share timelines and updates in real-time, streamline data input and management and automate scheduling. 

In conclusion, as the market demand for ocean freight shipping is slated to keep rising, shipping companies would do well to streamline their procedures so they can offer their services to interested parties. Remember, shipping safely and quickly should be a priority for you and your customer. However, that is only when you can achieve success as a shipping company.