b'20American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(TARIFFScontinued fromfersfrommoretraditional page 18) networks based on more and mightnotnecessarilybeinmoredirectportcalls.You suchahurrytomoveyourcouldarguethatthisiscre-cargobecausetheycanseeatingmorecomplexityfrom higher-paying boxes around.ashippersperspective.But So,IseeILCsasasmarttheywillhavemoreoptions move going forward for ship- andgreaterscopetochoose pers,forwarders,andcar- onecarrierandonealliance riersandonewhichallowson one trade and another car-themtosleepprettywell.rierinanotherallianceon Even though it may suit someanother tradeeven though at trades better than others, itsthe moment it might be tricky definitelysomethingweseeto assess which one is the best as a must-have in the future.for them.ItsasolutionparticularlyHe said this was because well-suitedtomarketsthatthecompleteroll-outofthe showgreatvolatility,suchchanges from any of the alli-as the North America trades,ancesisprobablyseveral where uncertainty is at suchmonths off. Its likely to be apitchthatitsdifficulttothesummerbeforethenew knowwhatlevelofratestoalliancesandnewnetworks sign up for. arefullyoperational.Car-C ArrierA LLiAnCes riers and their alliances have comeinforplentyofcriti-Theon-goingre-jigcism over the years, arguably within carrier alliances is alsoreaching a height during the a topical talking point in theCOVID years when box rates container shipping sector andwentthroughtheroofand another cause of uncertainty,capacity was reserved for the Sandobserved.TheGeminihighest bidders.Cooperationenteredser- Themovebysomecar-vice on 1 February, bringingriers to transform themselves together Maersk and Hapag- intologisticsintegratorshasvice and a better product totheyremainwellabovego back to the time leading Lloyd, after exiting 2M andalso caused tensions with for- the shippers. wheretheywerepre-pan- uptotheRedSeadisrup-THEAlliancerespectively.wardersandshippers.Thedemic.Thequestionisfortion, carriers were in a loss-(see Alliancechartonpagealliances are far from perfect,C Arrierp roFitABiLity howmuchlonger?Whenmakingposition.Inthe18 22)Geminioffersaser- butIbelievetheyensureaAndo utLook welookattheunderlyingmonths that have followed, vicefocusedonaroundabetter use of the assets from aWhile carriers earningsfundamentals of the containerwe have seen an increase in fewmegahubsservedbycarrier perspective and argu- have steadily declined sinceshippingmarket,capacityis(TARIFFScontinued on aspokesystemwhichdif- ably also deliver a better ser- the so-called COVID years,outstrippingdemand.Ifwepage 22)'