A Look at the International Freight Industry for 2015

The progress and development of the international freight industry highly depends on the movements within the U.S. economy. This year growth in the U.S. has greatly influenced the increased business of freight forwarders. This goes without saying that there aren’t any challenges ahead because despite the U.S.’s rise in economic power, the rest of the world is still experiencing a slow growth. It’s a good thing that the increase in U.S. production provides an impactful weight in providing stabilization to the global marketplace.

One of the bright spots of this year was the major decline in the prices of fuel. However, this didn’t mean that it kept the rates of truckers from increasing. The reason for this is to preserve the quality of service within the trucking industry. The slight increase in rates will be spent on keeping experienced and quality drivers, as well as on investing in expensive power units for freight that cannot be accommodated by the railway system.

There will also be a continued collaboration and partnership between the railway freight and truckers. The rise within U.S.’s buying power did put the pressure on the railway system, resulting to certain logistical and technical issues such as ramp congestion and chassis shortages. Although there was an increase in rates, it wasn’t significantly high. The key move for the rail system to bounce back is to become more adaptable to changing environments. But as it is, there will still be a back and forth shift with the trucking business in the near future.

The international freight forwarding industry that will experience the bulk of the changes within the economy will still be sea shippers. Congestions within U.S. ports play a big role in the price hikes of shippers and will also bleed into other modes of transport. Most, if not all, of the carriers will still face the consequences of overcapacity and are bound to continue their tried-and-tested methods of coping with these issues, including skipped sailings and increases in rates.

Air cargo transportation, on the other hand, has seen better days as it continues to progress after years of stagnation. Companies should expect to see a steady recovery in this mode of transport and should take full advantage of this trend by locking in rates for at least a year.

To remain updated on the changes with the business of international freight forwarders, it’s best to have a reliable company on your side that you can easily approach regarding all the movements within the economy and the shipping industry.