End of year swing to the east

West coast ports have lost market share to east coast ports as many took the congestion earlier this year at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as a sign to move their voyages to arrive on the opposite side of the country. Concerns are now being raised, as the west coast sees a slower season than in recent years, that those moves could be long-term if not permanent. Unfortunately, the reasons for the shift are more complex than the number of ships we saw queued at the port this same time last year. 

FMC looks at rates and retaliation

The FMC is working hard to keep carriers accountable as investigations into retaliation and discrimination against shippers who reported fee and demurrage charges that were erroneously applied. Hot on the heels of the news that ocean rates are dropping, causing contract rates to become much higher than the spot market, the FMC’s look into carrier actions is likely overdue. 

Considering the plan to manage falling rates will be blanked sailings, rolled bookings, and service reductions, those bandaid-on-bullet-wound solutions are geared to lowering the available capacity to drive up rates artificially, just the behavior the FMC should be investigating.