Container lines running U.S.-inbound services continue to face elevated demand with total shipments up by 26.9% year over year and by 21.7% versus 2019 in the month of April. Strong demand in a fixed capacity (on a two to three year basis) industry has inevitably led to higher shipping rates during the annual contract signing period. One facet has been the emergence of long-term contracts, with Maersk’s Head of Ocean Products, Johan Sigsgaard, stating the firm has been able to “increase the number of contracts that are signed for multi years, so over 24 months and above” with contracts e...