MSC Goes It Alone While mega-alliances dominate much of container shipping, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) has charted a radically different course. Since August 2020,
the Swiss carrier has acquired 500 secondhand ships, doubling its fleet
capacity from 3.8 million to nearly 7.4 million TEU and capturing more than 21% of global liner capacity. Combined with an aggressive newbuilding program, this rapid expansion propelled
are taking, shippers can do their part to work productively with their ocean transportation partners. A starting point is understanding how spiking fuel costs, additional surcharges, and other market shifts impact their own costs per unit, says Nick Bartlett, co-founder and director with Wayfindr. Questions to ask include: • Should I ship? • Should I wait? • Should I front load? • Should I look at alternative fulfillment models? TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE Addressing these questions often requires some visibility into the carrier’s network. Without it, shippers often learn about variances, such as carriers canceling scheduled sailings or skipping planned port calls, perhaps to recover their schedules, too late to proactively adjust inventory, transportation, or customer commitments, Bournisien says The goal is to evaluate total costs of each carrier. A cheaper booking on a less- reliable carrier can end up costing more if it becomes necessary to add inventory because the schedule can’t be trusted. “Shift the procurement lenses from price to reliability,” Bournisien says. Climate-driven bottlenecks turn key maritime corridors into global geopolitical pressure points. For instance, low rainfall and an impending El Niño forced the Panama Canal Authority to restrict vessel traffic.
MSC past Maersk to become the world’s largest containerline. Crucially, that sheer fleet size has enabled a feat no major competitor has attempted: operating principal east-west trade lanes independently, without belonging to a global vessel- sharing alliance. Following the conclusion of its 2M partnership with Maersk, MSC launched a standalone global network, demonstrating that unmatched scale can replace traditional partnership models.
Building relationships with multiple ocean carriers and understanding the options they offer also helps when a shipper plans to enter new markets or consider new services. They’re not starting from zero, Beagen says. Also, the deeper the carrier network that a shipper is using, the wider the benchmark for evaluating spot pricing. And while some shippers assume they lack leverage when negotiating with carriers, “everyone’s got leverage at some point,” Bartlett says, adding that shippers just need to know when to try to use it. For instance, if a vessel is rerouted with no notice, the carrier should face a penalty or other consequence. MULTIPLE CHOICE Along with building a broad carrier network, shippers benefit by developing multiple options for different transportation modes, Anand says. If, for instance, ocean transport won’t move products as quickly as needed, a shipper
might replace a segment of the trip with rail. Given the current environment, Curry recommends shippers extend booking lead times to three to four weeks and build buffers of 10 to 14 days into their cargo-ready dates. And while shippers should maintain baseline cargo contracts for core stability, they’ll want to keep some portion of their volume flexible so they’re positioned to capitalize on potential post-peak rate adjustments and spot market capacity in late 2026. Because the forces reshaping ocean freight, including geopolitical tension and shifting trade policies, are becoming structural in nature, ocean freight should no longer be managed in isolation. “It has become an integral component of sourcing, inventory and network strategy,” Augustin says. Carrier-shipper relationships need to evolve into ones that are strategic, data-driven, and built around shared resilience.
October 2026 • Inbound Logistics 35
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