Caption: The situation in sea freighttransport came to a head in June. We warned early on about the threat ofshortages.

Tariffs and trade conflicts are currently back in the spotlight. We at 4PL Central Station are also closely monitoring developments, particularly with regard to the seafreight market and rate developments. The first signs of bottlenecks emerged back in June as a result of the trade dispute between China and the US: overloaded port infrastructures, rising demand for sea freight capacity to the US, and possible effects on shipping traffic between Europe and Asia. Against this backdrop, we informed our affected customers at an early stage and provided recommendations on how to protect themselves. In the end, the actual development was less serious than initially feared. Nevertheless, it has once again become clear how crucial forward-looking market observation is and how important it remains to react in good time and secure capacities in a targeted manner.