Shipping lines think short-term

A major freight forwarding organisation based in Hong Kong says that shipping lines are adopting the short-term strategy of ‘rolling-over’ cargo, to the long term detriment of the industry.  ‘Rolling over means rejecting a container which has already been booked on the ship, in favour of a customer who is willing to pay a higher ‘spot rate’.  This makes shipping costs unpredictable, and transit times unreliable, as a container which has been rejected will be left lying on the quay until the next ship is ready to leave.  Shipping volumes from the the Far East are undergoing a seasonal surge as European warehouses re-stock, but this does not mean that volumes will continue to recover from this point on.