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Every year the contract negotiating environment confronting BCOs is different, if not unprecedented. Such is the underlying pace of change and volatility in the post-COVID market. In 2024, carriers slow-walked negotiations as the market tightened following the Red Sea re-routings and what turned out to be an early peak-season surge. In late summer/early fall of 2024 there is almost no predicting the dynamics of the 2025 cycle. That means it’s not clear to what extent carriers will favor BCO contracts —even with smaller BCOs — or if they will continue to pressure mid-sized non-vessel-operating common carriers on named accounts, challenging NVOCCs’ longstanding position with a certain tier of BCO. Many believe the Red Sea crisis will continue indefinitely but that is also unpredictable also. Capacity management and blank sailings — whether for operational or commercial reasons — is now the norm, giving shippers little-to-no visibility of deployment patterns. Carriers now are more prepared and equipped than ever to counter container shipping downcycles, thanks in part to the effects of consolidation. By early September, the market was showing clear signs of weakness after an early peak combined with Red Sea diversions that drove spot rates to nearly $8,000 per FEU to the West Coast and north of $8,000 to North Europe, according to various spot rate indices. Now in its third year as part of TPM Academy, this session, again led by shipping executive James Caradonna, will offer expert guidance on how BCOs should approach the contract negotiating cycle in 2025.