Ocean Freight
7 briefings, newest first.
- Freight Inflation Just Became the Macro Story
Diesel sets an all-time record near $5.97, truckload spot rates rise across every equipment type, holiday parcel surcharges jump about 25%, and a Fed rate hike looks likely.
- The Constraint Moved Off the Balance Sheet and Onto the Map
Drought throttles the Panama Canal, a typhoon strands 139 ships off Shanghai, a trucking enforcement purge tightens capacity, and a new tariff wall goes up with Canada.
- The Inversion Flipped: Transpacific Rates Surge as Truckload Cools
Ocean rates climb to $4,526 per box with Shanghai–New York up 9%, while truckload spot rates roll over and flatbed posts its steepest drop since 2008.
- Peak Season Kicks the Door Down
Ocean spot rates jump 20–31% in a week, factory activity hits a four-year high, and truckload spot runs its hottest since 2022 as consumer confidence slips.
- The SCOTUS Tariff Earthquake Reshapes Trade Policy Overnight
A 10% Section 122 surcharge replaces the struck-down tariffs, ocean rates slide for a seventh week, and Apple announces its first U.S.-built Mac.
- Ocean Freight: The Great Unraveling
Ocean rates keep falling, Maersk posts a fourth-quarter loss, a return to the Red Sea threatens more overcapacity, and port volumes drop as front-loading runs out.
- Ocean Freight Collapse Exposes Structural Weakness
Container rates fall 10% in a week as Lunar New Year exposes overcapacity, Micron breaks ground on a $100 billion fab, and semiconductor tariffs advance.
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