How to conquer perpetual peak season

You’re probably tired of hearing it—the global supply chain is falling short and now the whole world is paying attention.

The ocean freight market used to move in dependable annual cycles: bookings would ramp up from January through the Chinese New Year, slow down in spring, hit their biggest peak from August through October ahead of the holiday season, then quiet down through the end of the calendar year. And each year during the spring slack season, carriers and shippers would agree to new contracts based on historical data and the next year’s forecast. Rinse, repeat.

But the last 18 months have thrown all that dependability out of the window. Look no farther than the Sea-Intelligence newsroom to find out that schedule reliability remains at an all-time low, that late vessel arrivals have reached an all-time high, and that consumer demand shows no sign of slowing down. And if that’s all taking place during the typical slack season, we’re not likely to see things improve much ahead of the holidays. We’re living in a perpetual peak season...

This article was originally posted by Supply Chain Management Review. To continue reading, visit SCMR.com.