Container Rates Sink Near $1,000 With Demand ‘Crashing’

New vessel orders combined with plummeting cargo volumes have extended a drop-off in shipping rates — just as ocean carriers and importers met this week to hammer out details of upcoming contracts.

The mood of the TPM23 conference at Long Beach, California — captured in the ‘Picking Up the Pieces’ theme — was mixed, and it wrapped up by midweek with very few deals signed.