Singapore Freight Forwarding Services
Air & Sea Freight Between Singapore and the UK

Divide between Asia-US and Asia-Europe rates at historic levels

The price gap between container spot rates from Asia to North America and those to Europe has reached historic levels, with Sea-Intelligence warning that the current arbitrage could persist for several months. According to the latest analysis from the consultancy, Asia-US spot rates continue to rise, while Asia-Europe prices decline, creating an unprecedented premium for US importers. Using Drewry WCI weekly spot rate data from May 2012 to October 2026, Sea-Intelligence looked at four rate differentials between the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades. The most striking disparity was Asia to the US east coast (USEC), where the differential versus to North Europe reached $7,026 per 40ft in the latest week, in favour of the US - more than double the previous record of $3,179, recorded in June 2021. The Mediterranean-US east coast differential has also reached a record, of $6,726 per 40ft, the previous high being $2,828, also in June 2021. The pattern is similar to the US west coast (USWC) ports, where the difference between Asia-North Europe stands at $4,436 per 40ft in favour of the USWC. Sea-Intelligence said this premium was also comparable in scale to the extreme arbitrage seen in 2021, although the direction has reversed. In 2021, it favoured North Europe, reaching $4,888 in January and $4,510 in June. That was initially driven by pandemic-related disruption, and subsequently exacerbated by the grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March. "Every time we analyse developments in the market, and try to assess metrics over a longer time series, we find that what was normal in the pre-pandemic era, simply looks different now," said Sea-Intelligence. It explained that before 2020, freight rate movements of hundreds of dollars were considered significant, while changes above $1,000 were rare. Today's much sharper and faster rate movements demonstrate that market dynamics have fundamentally changed. Normally, arbitrage should encourage carriers to shift capacity between trades, eventually narrowing the difference. But Sea-Intelligence cautioned that such changes took time, operationally, and because carriers needed confidence that a pricing imbalance would persist before redeploying vessels. It also warned there was a precedent for a prolonged arbitrage. In the first half of 2021, the gap opened rapidly around January and remained elevated until June. Though that history does not mean the current transpacific premium would necessarily last as long, the consultancy added - rates could simply fall. But it does mean the size of the arbitrage should not be interpreted as evidence that transpacific rates are about to fall, while Asia-Europe rates rise. Sea-Intelligence concluded that the post-2020 market required a rethink of how shippers manage freight price risk. "The market has already changed fundamentally. What we need to see now is the contracting process - and the associated risk management and budget processes - change, to reflect this new reality."

'More liberal' India ends licence requirement for box ship reflagging

As its emerging economy pursues maritime-driven growth, India appears willing to simplify the regulatory system for foreign-flag containerships operating out of the country. Reflecting a more liberalised approach, the Indian authorities have scrapped a licensing requirement for vessels chartered by foreign lines through local entities registered in the new business district in Gujarat State better known as "GIFT City". Business units operating on the financial centre have multiple regulatory advantages - more particularly, significant tax exemptions - and several mainline and shortsea container lines reportedly already have presence at GIFT City, including CMA CGM, Maersk, and Unifeeder. And, acting on that strength, several container line heavyweights have implemented vessel reflagging in India - six changes by CMA CGM and twoby Maersk. The French shipping giant remains particularly upbeat on India. While reflagging one vessel the Marseille-based carrier said: "With India playing an increasingly important role in the global trade, CMA CGM remains dedicated to supporting the country's maritime ecosystem and contributing to its economic development through strategic initiatives and enhanced service offerings. "India represents a strategic market for the CMA CGM group," it added. MSC and Hapag-Lloyd have promised to follow suit in local tonnage development, according to sources. The move to abolish a licensing requirement that involved considerable documentation for each call seeking to enter Indian waters is a significant policy relaxation, aimed at pushing the "ease-of-doing-business environment" for investors. And industry sources claimed it would allow "greater operational flexibility" for carriers. The exemption also builds on other policy reconfigurations. New Delhi recently agreed to continue with the cabotage law waiver for foreign vessels, after moving to revoke the 2018 policy reform earlier this year. The liberal regime permits foreign lines to move transhipment cargo and empty boxes between Indian ports without restrictions, a great enabler in the context of ever-increasing trade volatility. However, despite the cabotage rule modification, Indian coastal trades remain the domain of vessels registered locally.

WiseTech air cargo push challenges independent booking platforms

In a move that could be a blow to air cargo booking platforms, WiseTech Global expects more forwarders to book airfreight directly within CargoWise, as it expands its airline connections and opens the platform to general sales and service agents. ATC Aviation Services, part of World Freight Company (WFC), has become the first GSSA to connect to CargoWise AirlineConnect, allowing users to search, compare, and book services from its represented airlines in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The connection brings capacity, schedules, and dynamic pricing into the same system forwarders use to manage shipments, with booking confirmations, amendments, cancellations, and status updates feeding into their workflow. Stuart Hayman, head of carrier integration and transformation at WiseTech Global, told The Loadstar the company expected more customers to book directly in CargoWise as its network expanded. "When booking happens inside the execution workflow, data is captured once and carried through the full shipment lifecycle," he said. "That clearly benefits accuracy, speed, and cost, so yes, we expect more forwarders to take advantage of these efficiencies." According to WiseTech, AirlineConnect now provides digital booking access to airlines accounting for 75% of the air waybills its customers execute, up 15 percentage points from a year ago. The figure measures the connected airlines' share of customers' air waybills, rather than the proportion of shipments actually booked through AirlineConnect. GSSA connections could broaden that reach by bringing several represented carriers onto the platform through a single integration. "Many of the airlines that GSSAs represent don't run their own ebooking channels in every market," said Mr Hayman. WFC markets capacity for more than 300 airlines across over 3,500 tradelanes, although the initial ATC connection covers only its airline portfolio in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. WiseTech expects coverage to expand through WFC's network over the coming months, and through other GSSA connections. Access to AirlineConnect is included in the CargoWise Value Pack. WiseTech did not specify whether airlines or GSSAs pay connection or transaction fees. However, Freightos founder and former CEO Zvi Schreiber argued that independent booking platforms retained advantages over a service tied to a particular transport management system. "Freightos Platform has two things a TMS can't easily copy. It's neutral, so an airline connected to it reaches forwarders whatever system they run," he told The Loadstar. "And through Freightos's shipper marketplace, the Freightos platform connects end-to-end, carriers to forwarders to shippers." Dr Schreiber, who is campaigning for Freightos to prioritise platform growth, said maintaining that network advantage required continued investment. "When a well-funded incumbent moves into your market, that's the moment to accelerate, not to take a sabbatical from growth." WiseTech's airfreight ambitions also extend beyond booking. Its July collaboration with Lufthansa Cargo and IBS Software enabled shipment records to be exchanged using IATA's ONE Record standard. Mr Hayman said the projects addressed different parts of the same workflow: AirlineConnect enables forwarders to find and secure capacity; while ONE Record supports shipment data exchange throughout the shipment lifecycle. "We will expand the bookable network through more direct airline and GSSA connections, deepen post-booking messaging and status visibility, and support standards such as ONE Record as airlines adopt them," he said. For forwarders, connectivity can be an important factor in choosing their operating system. New Hamburg-based forwarder Cherry's Logistics selected CargoWise after considering alternatives, with co-founder Marc-Henrik Schmitz identifying "the API connection possibilities" as one reason for its decision. Co-founder Sandra Bufe said its scalability and potential to save time and manpower were also attractions. But Cherry's intends to build its own data and knowledge environment, connecting its TMS and other systems while preserving flexibility over suppliers. "We want to stay flexible in making our own choices," said Mr Schmitz. Mr Hayman acknowledged that forwarders would continue using multiple booking channels as the market moved away from manual processes. "Our job is to make CargoWise the most complete and convenient option, which is why expanding the network through GSSAs like ATC is so important."