Carriers want higher 2027 ocean contract rates after record Q3 profits. Spot rates are easing and Suez capacity may return, so shippers should negotiate index-linked deals with re-opener triggers.
Procurement · Topic
Ocean Freight
Container shipping for importers and exporters: FCL and LCL, rates, surcharges, alliances and documents.
- 44 guides
- Updated Nov 15, 2026
- Browse all 44 ↓
Latest in Ocean Freight
Ocean Freight Rates Explained: Spot vs Contract, Surcharges and What Moves the Price in 2026
A container rate is a base price plus a stack of surcharges, bought on the spot market or under contract. This guide explains each layer and what moves it.
FCL vs LCL: Which Ocean Freight Option Is Cheaper, Faster and Safer for Your Cargo?
A full container or a share of one? This guide gives the container capacities, the way each option is priced, the break-even volume and the practical risks.
Port of Rotterdam: How Europe’s Largest Port Competes With Antwerp and Faces Decarbonisation
Europe’s largest port handled 428.4 million tonnes in 2025. Inside its rivalry with Antwerp-Bruges, the Maasvlakte capacity trap, cocaine security and the energy-transition bet.
Port of Vancouver and Prince Rupert: Canada’s Pacific Gateway Under Strain
Vancouver moved a record 170 million tonnes in 2025 and Prince Rupert grew 14%, but strikes, rail dependence and a decade-long terminal expansion strain Canada’s Asia gateway.
Port of Tauranga: How a Regional Harbour Became New Zealand’s Main Gateway
Tauranga beat Auckland by dredging deeper, building an inland port in its rival’s backyard and listing on the stock exchange.
All 44 guides at a glance
- 2027 Ocean Freight Contracts: Record Carrier Profits, Softer Spot Rates and a Shipper Negotiating Playbook
- Ocean Freight Rates Explained: Spot vs Contract, Surcharges and What Moves the Price in 2026
- FCL vs LCL: Which Ocean Freight Option Is Cheaper, Faster and Safer for Your Cargo?
- Port of Rotterdam: How Europe’s Largest Port Competes With Antwerp and Faces Decarbonisation
- Port of Vancouver and Prince Rupert: Canada’s Pacific Gateway Under Strain
- Port of Tauranga: How a Regional Harbour Became New Zealand’s Main Gateway
- The Box: How the Shipping Container Rewrote Every Supply Chain
- Advance Freight and Prepaid Commitments: Sailing Reservation and Supplier-Risk Controls
- BCO (Beneficial Cargo Owner): Direct Ocean Contracting, Data and Service Controls
- BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor): Fuel-Surcharge Indexation and Freight-Quote Controls
- Inter-Island Shipping: The Philippines’ Most Expensive Road Network
- ICTSI: The Philippine Company Running Ports on Six Continents
- Hamburg and the Port Problem: Why German Trade Flows Through Rotterdam
- Hapag-Lloyd and the Container Cycle: Feast, Famine and Why It Repeats
- Singapore’s Maritime Cluster: Bunkering, Registry and the Business of Hosting Shipping
- Neptune Orient Lines: Why Singapore Sold Its National Shipping Line
- Port Klang and Westports: Malaysia’s Transhipment Hub
- MISC Berhad: Malaysia’s Global Shipping Giant
- Nakilat: How Qatar Built the World’s Largest LNG Fleet
- COFC: Container-on-Flatcar Procurement and Intermodal Handoff Controls
- Broken Stowage: Unused Capacity, Stowage Yield and Freight-Cost Controls
- Active Stowage: Dynamic Warehouse Placement and Work-in-Progress Controls
- Bulkhead: Cargo Segregation, Structural Separation and Compatibility Controls
- Alongside: Port-Side Delivery, Handoff and Cost Controls
- C&F vs CFR: Retiring Legacy Cost-and-Freight Wording
- CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor): FX Freight Risk and Contract Controls
- Bogie and Bolster Controls: Container Chassis, Interfaces and Safe Handoffs
- Bridge Points and Bridge Ports: Intermodal Handoff and Inland Gateway Controls
- Breakbulk and Project Cargo: Packaging, Handling and Stowage Controls
- Container Freight Stations and LCL Consolidation: CFS Procurement Controls
- Affreightment Contracts: Reserved Ocean Capacity and Volume Procurement
- Cabotage and Coastwise Shipping: Domestic Maritime Sourcing Controls
- Container Cells and Cell Guides: Slot and Stowage Procurement Controls
- Combination Passenger and Cargo Ships: Mixed-Use Vessel Procurement Controls
- Barge Carriers and Inland Waterway Procurement: Capacity, Draft and Terminal Controls
- COGSA and Common Carrier Liability: Ocean Contract Controls
- Cargo Security Hardware: Car Seals, Bull Rings, Cleats, Side Rails and Block Stowage
- Bulk Cargo Procurement: Bulk Carriers, Bulk-Freight Containers, Barrel, Bale and Tonnage
- Freight Contracts and Parties: Carrier, Forwarder, Broker, BCO and Charter Party
- Container Types and Load Securing: Open-Top, Breakbulk, Blocking and Bracing
- Freight Rates and Surcharges: BAF, CAF, Storage and Accessorial Charges
- Shipping Documents for Procurement: Bill of Lading, AWB, CMR and Cargo Manifest
- Warehouse-to-Warehouse Clause: Your Marine Insurance Lifeline
- Mastering the Ocean Bill of Lading for Smooth International Shipping
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All guides
The Box: How the Shipping Container Rewrote Every Supply Chain
A Kurums Book Taste review of The Box for procurement and logistics leaders who want to understand the infrastructure their sourcing strategies silently assume.
Advance Freight and Prepaid Commitments: Sailing Reservation and Supplier-Risk Controls
A procurement guide to advance freight: distinguish prepaid transport from supplier cash, protect reserved sailings and control refunds, credits and release evidence.
BCO (Beneficial Cargo Owner): Direct Ocean Contracting, Data and Service Controls
A procurement guide to BCO controls: direct ocean contracting, NVOCC relationships, shipment identity, service levels, invoices and cargo visibility.
BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor): Fuel-Surcharge Indexation and Freight-Quote Controls
A procurement guide to BAF: bunker-price baselines, fuel-surcharge formulas, caps, effective dates, invoice evidence and carrier negotiations.
Inter-Island Shipping: The Philippines’ Most Expensive Road Network
Geography sets a floor on logistics cost, and it falls hardest on the provinces least able to absorb it.
ICTSI: The Philippine Company Running Ports on Six Continents
The difficulty of the home market turned out to be the competitive advantage abroad.