From Hormuz to the Amazon: A Market Under Pressure
Ocean freight this week is a study in divergence: Pacific rates are splitting by coast, Asia-Europe spreads are widening, and a new blockade declaration just widened the Middle East risk map. Even Lars's connection from France needed a reroute this week: his audio came through rough enough that part of the episode runs on AI voiceover instead. Turns out signal disruption isn't just a shipping lane problem.
In this episode, Lars Jensen and Caroline Weaver cover:
Why Northeast Asia is pushing USWC rates up 14.6% while pulling USEC rates down 1.6%, in the same week
The Houthis' newly declared blockade on Saudi Arabia, and why it threatens the last working bypass route around the Strait of Hormuz
Rising bunker costs, a new 25% Section 301 tariff on Brazil, and a US inventory picture that Lars calls "walking on a knife edge"
Low water surcharges now hitting the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Rhine, and the Amazon, all at once
Subscribe to weekly highlights
In this episode, Lars Jensen and Caroline Weaver cover:
Why Northeast Asia is pushing USWC rates up 14.6% while pulling USEC rates down 1.6%, in the same week
The Houthis' newly declared blockade on Saudi Arabia, and why it threatens the last working bypass route around the Strait of Hormuz
Rising bunker costs, a new 25% Section 301 tariff on Brazil, and a US inventory picture that Lars calls "walking on a knife edge"
Low water surcharges now hitting the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Rhine, and the Amazon, all at once
Subscribe to weekly highlights
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