Ocean Freight Trends: 2025
Some may say that the world at present is fairly unpredictable. The year that’s almost over, 2024, has been one of much change and volatility. The world markets have seen ebbs and flows due in large part to the two wars taking place in Europe and the Middle East, as well as much uncertainty in places such as China and Taiwan.
The US elections have spurred much talk about trade in 2025 and beyond, as President elect Trump makes statements and plans to increase tariffs on imported goods to the USA.
All this has a direct impact on freight and its future. A market that doesn’t show any sign of relenting, ocean freight, is set to continue its push forward, regardless of the uncertainty surrounding it. There are many direct impacts on the sea freight industry, such as the disruptions in the Red Sea and Panama Canal, and strikes that could disrupt many shipping channels.
But what does this all mean for 2025? The team at Inter-Sped freight and logistics have broken this down and put together our 4 key trends we see for the year ahead.
Trend 1: Agility
If the last 4 years, since the Covid-19 Pandemic hit, has taught us anything, it’s to remain agile. Not very much is a certainty in the global markets anymore, with changes across the world, as mentioned above, causing ripples that can be felt the world over.
Remaining agile in a world of constant change, ensures you also remain relevant. Conflict tension as well as trade tension add huge unpredictability to the market, which in-turn makes it difficult to plan and forecast what 2025 will hold.
Consider risks such as: increased strike action, US-Mexico border congestion, Panama Canal restrictions, the Red Sea crisis, and labour uncertainty. All these (and more) mean that being proactive, and allowing space for flexibility in your ocean freight movements is key.
Trend 2: Unpredictable Costs
The instability and unrest around the world, most particularly in the Middle East and Europe, has led to rising costs and service instability in shipping. This of course comes with a higher cost of shipping.
Two issues in particular have forced freight carriers to increase their costs due to circumstances out of their control.
- The Red Sea Crisis: the shortest route between Europe and Asia is being circumvented to avoid attacks on ships in this region. The Suez Canal, previously the obvious route for shippers to take, has been replaced with longer journeys around the Cape of Good Hope, to avoid these attacks.
- The Panama Canal: Drought in this region has forced authorities to limit the number of ships passing through, which forces ocean freight couriers to up their costs to allow for rerouting, lowering cargo loads for the water levels, and waiting time.
There are many reasons costs fluctuate when these issues are prominent, most notably there is a higher fuel consumption due to the longer routes being taken, as well as increased security and insurance on products due to the piracy and military forming blockades on particular ocean freight routes.
The moral of the story here is that prices have been particularly unstable in 2024, however this does not mean we’ll continue to see this in 2025 – costs are unpredictable and should be monitored at all times.
Trend 3: Increased Technology
It’s here to stay. The increased use of technology within every industry has shown huge leaps in 2024. With the continual onset and appreciation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can see the same trends within the ocean freight industry.
Whilst technology within logistics and freight is not isolated to ocean freight, for the purposes of this article, we will be relating it back as such. Data driven decision making and predictive analytics, are a very real presence within the freight industry, and cannot be ignored. Predictive analytics is assisting ocean freight carriers to route plan – optimising the route, reducing fuel consumption and avoiding delays.
Technology itself has a direct impact on the sustainability of logistics operations – green practices are becoming more of necessity and priority within the logistics industry. New regulations in the United States, such as the EU Green Deal, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the SEC Climate Disclosure Rules, are coming into effect and will enforce more sustainable practices across the freight forwarding industry.
The Inter-Sped team are continuously looking ahead to the future to see how we can improve upon our efficiencies and services using technologically advanced products. We are also, however, well aware that conversations surrounding AI and LLM’s are just that, conversations. Pilot programmes for this type of technology are ongoing, and tend to focus on a specific or limited application, as opposed to being implemented across the board.
Trend 4: E-commerce Implications
You may be wondering what exactly e-commerce has to do with shipping?
Put simply, the increased growth of e-commerce is rapidly forcing logistics to evolve in the same way.
Consumers are demanding more, faster. As such, business owners are looking to meet these expectations, with more and more e-commerce sites popping up, and businesses that may have previously been “in-store only”, becoming well mapped out online stores, with courier logistics to boot.
The implication this has on the logistics industry and shipping is the demand of faster delivery and increased cargo volumes. Freight forwarding companies cannot rest only on one form of transport, the entire chain has to be well oiled and smooth from start to finish: ocean shipping, to port logistics, warehousing, last-mile delivery.
Embracing the reality and effect of e-commerce on global shipping means that you are fully aware of what needs to be put into place to meet the demands and expectations of the consumer.
In closing
We could take you through many more trends we’re seeing take shape at the moment, and which ultimately will have an effect on the industry in 2025.
Carrier alliances is one of those we have not mentioned, but which is in fact one of the biggest updates to ocean freight carriers in a very long time. Many alliances that have been in place for decades are being replaced with new partnerships. The impact of these changes will only be seen through 2025.
Keep abreast of all the highlights, key trends and milestones within ocean freight and the larger logistics industry by signing up to Inter-Speds newsletter on our website: https://inter-sped.net/.
