Rapidly increasing spot freight rates are diverging further from contract rates, imitating the pattern seen during the pandemic, leaving large shippers in a better position than SMEs and freight forwarders, according to freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta. Xeneta market analyst Emily Stausboll said: “Some of our customers are saying this brings back pandemic memories, and there are very few that have pleasant memories from that time.” In yesterday’s ocean freight webinar, Xeneta presented a comparison of Asia-Mediterranean spot rates at 1 December 2020 versus the start of the Red Sea crisis, from 1 January 2024. The graph indicates that, while at the start of both crises the market reacted similarly, the Red Sea crisis was more quickly mitigated, meaning rates did not inflate in the same way. “That’s day 180, where we are at now. If you look at the next graph, this is where the bad memories will really come up,” she warned. She highlighted the large upward hike during Covid at around day 100, and noted that another year elapsed before the peak of $14,000.
