Shippers made plenty of positive comments about rates during their quarterly conference calls, but the rates themselves didn’t bear this out in February. The CCFI container index fell 7% in the month, partly due to the lunar new year holiday early in the month, though a 13% drop in Europe-bound routes led the declines. Further volatility is likely as the new alliances (THE and Ocean) get started in April. Bulk rates diverged, with the Baltic Dry Index rising 7% on stronger commodity prices while tanker rates continued to slide despite oil prices inching ahead. The outlook for container a...