The Freight Debate

What’s really happening in the Red Sea, and how should shippers plan for what comes next? In this episode of The Freight Debate, Phil Hennessy and Emily Stausbøll unpack the growing gap between carrier messaging and market reality when it comes to a potential return to the Suez Canal. While headlines hint at progress, the data tells a more cautious story, with container ship transits still trendin...

In this episode of The Freight Debate, Rajesh Bhol, Principal Product Manager - Indexing at Xeneta, sits down with Mads Drejer, Global COO & CCO at Scan Global Logistics, to unpack one of the biggest shifts reshaping forwarding today: the rise of index-linked contracts. As post-COVID volatility shattered the reliability of traditional 12-month RFQs, forwarders now find themselves caught betwee...

Phil Hennessy and Emily Stausbøll take a close look at the latest developments affecting global shipping routes and what they could mean for carriers planning for 2026. With new signals emerging around route stability, they explore how carriers and insurers evaluate operational confidence and what a large-scale return to shorter transit paths could mean for vessel scheduling and port flow. They br...

When Plan A fails, what separates reactive companies from resilient ones? In this episode of The Freight Debate, host Phil Hennessy talks with Martha Christina, procurement leader at Linde, about how procurement teams keep global supply chains moving through volatility, regulation shifts, and rising freight costs. Martha shares how her team balances speed, safety, and spend in high-stakes gas supp...

Shippers and forwarders are demanding more than price, they want proof of performance. Fabio Brocca sits down with Simon Sundboell to unpack Xeneta’s acquisition of eeSea and what it means for how the industry measures reliability. They trace eeSea’s origins as the “Google Maps of container shipping,” explore how schedule data and freight rates now work together inside Xeneta’s platform, and revea...

Rates from the Far East to the U.S. and Europe are up, some lanes by more than 70% since October. In this episode of The Freight Debate, hosts Phil Hennessy and Emily Stausbøll break down what’s really driving the latest rate surge and whether it’s part of a familiar year-end pattern. They unpack why rates are rising even as demand stays soft, what shippers should expect from upcoming tender negot...

Go inside Xeneta Summit 2025, a dynamic gathering of shippers, freight forwarders, and carriers redefining how the industry connects, strategizes, and builds resilience. In this special episode, Patrik Berglund and Fabio Brocca take you behind the scenes of Barcelona’s biggest freight event. From record-breaking attendance to the debut of Xeneta’s newest product innovations, they share the moments...

What happens when global markets shift faster than carriers can adapt? Phil Hennessy and Emily Stausbøll explore how changing policies, new cost pressures, and shifting demand patterns are creating ripple effects across international shipping. They break down the real-world impact on carriers, from unexpected port expenses to early peak-season swings, and what it signals for supply chains heading...

Freight contracts keep breaking because they weren’t built for volatility. Eloisa Tovee sits down with Matthew Gore, Partner at HFW, to unpack why so many agreements fail under pressure and what it really takes to make them hold. From “gentlemen’s agreements” and glorified rate sheets to the rise of index-linked deals, they trace how contracting has evolved and where it still breaks. They discuss...

What will shape ocean freight in 2026? Hosts, Phil Hennessy and Emily Stausbøll, share key findings from Xeneta’s Ocean Freight Outlook 2026, explaining how trade patterns, shipping capacity, and global demand are evolving. They discuss the recent 11% decline in China–U.S. exports alongside a 5.8% increase in overall global exports, plus what the delivery of 10 million TEU in new capacity could me...

Shippers who wait until tender season are leaving money on the table. Phil Hennessy sat down with Peter Sundara Swamickannu to examine why procurement can’t be a once-a-year exercise. They break down how real-time data gives shippers credibility in negotiations, why budgets built on last year’s averages are doomed to fail, and how smart teams capture savings by acting outside the traditional tende...

Why did freight rates suddenly spike in September? Hosts, Phil Hennessey and Emily Stausbøll, break down the surprising surge on the Transpacific trade and why it caught so many shippers off guard. They unpack what fueled the unexpected jump and what it tells us about the fragile balance between global trade lanes. From the “dance” between Transpacific and Far East–North Europe rates to the way ca...

Phil Hennessy and Peter Sand break down the complex world of freight surcharges and why they remain one of the most frustrating parts of global shipping. From surcharges that don’t always match trade routes, to peak season fees that appear even when it isn’t peak season, they explore how carriers create, label, and defend these extra costs.  The discussion highlights real examples of shippers payi...

Are shippers finally gaining the upper hand in negotiations? Phil Hennessy and Emily Stausbøll analyze the widening spread between spot and long-term rates, the lessons learned from pandemic volatility, and the trade-offs that define today’s contracts. From record-low backhaul rates to index-linked agreements designed to prevent rolled cargo, they examine how risk and reliability are reshaping pro...

In this episode of The Freight Debate, host Tom Moffett, Principal Product Manager at Xeneta, sits down with Wenwen Zhang, Xeneta’s Air Freight Development and Analysis Lead, to decode the complex landscape of modern air freight. If you’re navigating the air freight market in 2025, air freight pricing and air freight volatility are two critical forces you can’t afford to ignore. Air freight pricin...

Will freight rates drop to pre–Red Sea crisis levels? Phil Hennessy and Emily Stausbøll break down the numbers, capacity trends, and market forces shaping the answer. From the $8,000 post-crisis peak to today’s $200-above-baseline reality, they explore how carrier decisions, shifting demand, and geopolitical factors are pushing rates toward 2019 territory. They unpack why rates climbed in the firs...

In this essential episode of The Freight Debate, host Rajesh Bhol sits down with two industry powerhouses: Christian Pederson, Global Head of Ocean Contract Products at A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Patrik Olstad Berglund, Co-founder and CEO of Xeneta, to unpack the freight industry's evolving relationship with indexing, contract standardization, and market volatility. If you've been following recent su...

Tariffs and backhaul rates dominate global shipping news again this week as the ripple effects of the EU-US trade deal and continued uncertainty in US-China negotiations drive new challenges in the container shipping market. Tariffs and backhaul rates may sound like niche topics, but in this episode of The Freight Debate, hosts Phil Hennessey and Emily Stausbøll, Senior Shipping Analyst at Xeneta,...

In this episode of The Freight Debate, host Philip Hennessey sits down with Xeneta Senior Analyst Emily Stausbøll to unpack the current state of global shipping and its increasingly unpredictable pricing landscape. With the return of tariff volatility and collapsing freight demand on key routes, tariff volatility and freight demand are two of the most critical issues shippers face in 2025. Tariff...

In this episode of The Freight Debate, hosts Phil and renowned supply chain expert Wolfgang Lehmacher explore how modern businesses are navigating tariffs and digital fragmentation in an increasingly volatile world. Tariffs and fragmentation—two of the most pressing challenges facing global trade—are no longer rare disruptions, but constants that supply chain leaders must actively integrate into t...

In this episode of The Freight Debate, hosts Emily Stausbøll and Phil dive into the game-changing impact of the Gemini Alliance on the global shipping industry. The Gemini Alliance, formed by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, is redefining container shipping by targeting a groundbreaking 90% schedule reliability. This ambitious goal is critical in an industry where schedule reliability has historically hove...

In this episode of The Freight Debate, hosts Philip Hennessey and Emily Stausbøll dive deep into the ever-evolving world of container shipping and global trade flows, examining the current disruption caused by tariffs and geopolitical tensions. From shifting trade routes due to the 145% China tariffs to the growing complexity of the Red Sea crisis, this discussion offers supply chain professionals...

In this episode, hosts Phil Hennessey and Patrik Berglund, (co-founder and CEO of Xeneta) dive into the evolution of the freight and shipping industry. They candidly discuss the origins of Xeneta, highlighting the challenges of bringing transparency to the complex and often opaque ocean freight market. From their scrappy MVP days—built on spreadsheets and cold calls—to the hurdles of data collecti...

Join hosts Philip Hennessey and Emily Stausbøll in this special episode of The Freight Debate as they unpack the Xeneta 2025 Mid-Year Outlook, an essential update for anyone navigating the complex world of container shipping and freight rates. This episode dives headfirst into key developments impacting global trade, including the recent U.S. legal decisions on tariffs and their long-term implicat...

Welcome to another transformative episode of The Freight Debate, hosted by Phil Hennessy with special guests Fabio Brocker and Dr. Elouise Epstein. This week's discussion dives deep into the freight industry's digital revolution, a subject redefining logistics, supply chains, and procurement across the globe. The freight industry's digital revolution is accelerating faster than ever, driven by AI,...