• TPM25
  • March 2-5, 2025 | Long Beach Convention Center

Laura Robb

Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Associate Editor-Americas Container Market

Laura Robb joined the S&P Global Commodity Insights container freight desk in Houston in 2022, covering ocean freight markets. She regularly covers container freight market fundamentals, such as rate and volume activity – and related topics, like supply chain diversification, vessel supply and consumer demand. Her background is in journalism, procurement, and communications, with a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University. Before joining SPGCI, Laura worked in the global logistic industry on the buyer side, having sourced a variety of goods from China, India, Brazil and other countries.

Sessions With Laura Robb

Tuesday, 4 March

  • 04:15pm - 04:45pm (PST) / 05/mar/2025 12:15 am - 05/mar/2025 12:45 am

    Commodity Spotlight: Perishables

    Like the overall reefer industry, shipping of perishables in 2024 has been a tale of two markets. In the US, strong South American imports of fruits and vegetables, the single largest commodity in the US trades, led an overall 7% gain in imports through the first eight months of the year. Globally, perishables have proven stronger than frozen proteins, leading to moderate overall trade growth in 2024 vs. 2023. Will increasing global population and strong consumer markets in the US and Asia continue to be the growth drivers they were in 2024? How are perishables preparing for the new shipping alliances that will debut in early 2025? What new and emerging sourcing trends are emerging in this age of disruption and climate change? This session, composed of agricultural and other perishables stakeholders, will analyze the challenges and opportunities this key refrigerated shipping sector faces in the short and medium term.

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