Written by Jérôme de Ricqlès

Exclusive analysis on freight transport, supply chain and international trade topics

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    Jérôme de Ricqlès

    Expert in Ocean shipping for 25 years, Jerome puts all his knowledge of the industry to contribution for Upply. Ship captain at heart, he has written the English-French Lexicon of Containerized Shipping (Paris: CELSE, 2001).

    Container shipping companies start to personalise their liner terms

    Container shipping companies' conditions of sale are becoming increasingly personalised, a process favoured by digitalisation. In August 2020, Upply took you into container shipping's backroom in an article explaining shipping companies' general conditions of sale. Since then, the container sector h...
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    January 31 2023
    7 min
    Subscribers

    Container shipping market prepares for the next storm

    BAROMETER. Upply's data for the month of December confirms that the median rates charged by the container shipping industry have dropped sharply. With demand for goods from China still very weak, the shipping companies have cancelled a large number of port calls. Blank sailings are expected to be wi...
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    January 10 2023
    2 min

    Our three scenarios for container shipping in 2023

    The year 2023 will mark the end of windfall profits for shipping companies, in a context of profound transformation of freight flows. “For whosoever commands the sea commands the trade; whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself”." T...
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    January 03 2023
    2 min
    Subscribers

    Container shipping's bitter-tasting return to ''normality''

    BAROMETER. Ocean freight rates are continuing to fall, and the quality of shipping services is still lacking, even if port congestion is easing. The fast fall in freight rates for goods exported from China continued in November. Rates in other trades were less affected but the general trend was neve...
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    December 09 2022
    3 min

    Container shipping in 2022

    The last quarter of 2022 marks the end of a period in which freight rates have been exceptionally favourable to the container shipping companies. This period, which was caused by a reversal in the balance between supply and demand, lasted from May 2020 to September 2022. The fall in spot rates in th...
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    December 01 2022
    11 min
    Subscribers

    Container shipping soft landing looks unlikely

    BAROMETER. Asia-Europe freight rates since the end of October make it look more likely that the shipping companies are heading for a runway overrun than a soft landing. Under the combined effect of excessive stocks and weak consumption, Western economies have reduced their new orders from Asia.
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    November 08 2022
    2 min

    High retail stock levels cause drastic reduction in new orders

    The shipping companies are seeing a slowdown in demand for space for goods leaving China for Europe. High stock levels and the absence of visibility regarding future prospects are paralysing business activity.  Since the start of July, ocean freight rates on Asia-Europe routes have been falling afte...
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    October 28 2022
    3 min
    Subscribers

    Containers: a delay in the peak season

    BAROMETER. The soft-landing scenario for Asia-Europe freight rates continues, fuelled by the joint action of a low level of orders and the presence of large stocks in Western warehouses. The Covid-19 crisis has undoubtedly shattered the traditional cycles of containerised maritime shipping. After 18...
    Jérôme de Ricqlès
    October 12 2022
    2 min

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