Covid’s legacy: ‘Flexibility has replaced efficiency as box shipping’s guiding principle’

India is emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the post-pandemic shift towards more resilient global supply chains, with container shipping data showing its exports to the US continuing to strengthen. Xeneta chief analyst Peter Sand told The Loadstar : “When carriers adapt to the de-risking of supply chains set up by shippers, it involves more shipments out of India.” Indeed, he noted that freight rates from India to the US east coast were on track “ to be at an all-time high next week”, said Mr Sand. “If we see early indicators from Xeneta data, we could be as high as $7,400 per 40ft, and still climbing.” The growth reflects a broader trend of importers diversifying sourcing from China as they seek to reduce geopolitical and supply chain risks, he said. “There’s more to global shipping than the main tradelanes,” Mr Sand added. The Loadstar previously reported that one European freight forwarder said high demand on the India-North Europe trade , paired with capacity constraints, was making getting shipments out of India “nigh-on impossible” . The forwarder was having to book space “four-to-six weeks in advance”, and had seen carriers cancel bookings rather than roll cargo when space was tight. The resilience of Indian exports reflects a wider transformation in global supply chains, according to Braemar, which added that the container market had “fundamentally changed” since Covid, with resilience replacing efficiency as the industry’s defining principle. “Today, uncertainty has become part of the business model. Importers no longer wait for stability before making decisions. They diversify suppliers, adjust sourcing, build inventory when necessary, and bring cargo forward when risks emerge. Flexibility has replaced efficiency as the guiding principle,” explained Braemar analyst Jonathan Roach. “The industry no longer expects calm waters. It expects disruption,” he added. While Mr Roach highlighted that “none of this means container shipping has become immune to shocks”, he underscored that the industry was “unlikely to be caught offguard” in the same way it once was. “Covid did more than disrupt global shipping. It changed its mindset. For decades the industry pursued efficiency above almost everything else. Since 2020, it has pursued resilience, flexibility and speed of response. “That may prove to be the pandemic’s most enduring legacy.”