Freight expert partner discussion (I) – know the facts and influences
With clients and projects based in every part of the world, Ideoli ships its products via air, ocean and train. We need to work with the best in the freight industry to succeed. The freight industry is adjusting and we want to know how it has changed over the last few years.
Lauren, a Freight Expert, says, “Beginning with the collapse of Hanjin in the summer of 2016, we’ve seen a wave of mergers and acquisitions among global carriers. Just a short 5 years ago, we had about 20 major players, whereas this year, we’re working with 14. We also saw in 2018, the merger of 3 major Japanese carriers into ONE (Ocean Network Express).”
That’s important to know. How are the new and proposed tariffs changing the way freight is being handled from Asia to the USA?
She says, “The immediate impact that we’ve seen has definitely been an extended peak season. Shippers are trying to get their goods out of China before newer tariffs hit or the current tariffs are increased. In the long term, I think we’re going to see people really starting to try and diversify their sourcing. Although not plausible right now to eliminate China altogether, as other origin countries don’t really have the infrastructure or people resources. I think shippers are really going to start to try and source from different places to avoid these tariffs.”
That’s some helpful advice from the freight experts we deal with on a daily basis.
