Red-hot container markets adopt unorthodox measures

Container shipping markets have been tagged as red hot because base box rates have more than quintupled since the market began its steep hike north in May 2020 amid the pandemic's operational and logistical constraints.

But because exorbitantly high base rates are no longer the ticket to getting a box on a ship or a guarantee of timely delivery, the market has been shaped by measures such as carriers' premium services and surcharges that can more than double base rates.

S&P Global Platts Americas shipping senior managing editor Barbara Troner talks to Platts global container market experts Parisha Tyagi in Gurgaon, George Griffiths in London and David Lademan in Houston about how unusual market fundamentals make for unorthodox market behavior on all sides of the equation.