US-based freight forwarder and logistics provider Expeditors said Feb. 22 it registered significant earnings increases as logistical slowdowns continued to bolster global freight rates.
“While the global supply chain remains stretched beyond recognizable limits, we continue to do all we can to secure carrier space for our customers and move their freight through and around the many bottlenecks in the air, over the ocean and on land,” Expeditors CEO Jeffrey S. Musser said.
For the three months to Dec. 31, ocean freight volumes decreased by 4% against the year amid a marketwide capacity shortage as vessel queues outside ports remained in place during the fourth quarter.
“Ocean ports are too congested to accommodate many of the ships that need to load and unload their containers,” Musser said. “Ocean container volumes … declined during the quarter, as we were somewhat limited in our ability to secure necessary capacity from ocean carriers.”
Notwithstanding, Q4 ocean freight revenues for the company more than doubled in alignment with surging global freight costs.
The Platts Container Rate Index — a weighted average of Platts’ key assessments — averaged $7,219/FEU during the fourth quarter 2021, up 219% against the year when the PCTRI averaged $2,258/FEU.
The company reported ocean revenues at $1.89 billion for Q4 2021, up significantly from the $751 million seen the year prior.
Airfreight tonnage grew by 13% as the company increased chartering activity, while shippers diverted cargo to the air in a bid to skirt ocean logistical issues.
Source: Platts
