Global container shipping had a rollercoaster year in 2025, and the numbers tell a fascinating story.

In this episode of The Loadstar Podcast, host Charlotte Goldstone is joined by CEO of Container Trades Satistics (CTS) Nigel Pusey and The Loadstar’s managing editor Gavin van Marle to break down the biggest shifts in volumes, pricing and trade lanes over the past year.

From surging intra-Asia and Far East–Europe growth to a sharp decline on the transpacific, the trio unpack how tariffs, geopolitics and the China+1 strategy reshaped global flows. They dive into why freight rates fell nearly 20% year-on-year despite strong demand, where peak season really showed up, and how secondary trades quietly stole the spotlight.

Plus, there’s a scorecard moment as past predictions are put to the test, and some bold new forecasts are made for 2026 that may or may not age well. Data-driven, opinionated and refreshingly honest, this is essential listening for anyone trying to make sense of today’s container markets.

Earnings season is in full swing, and the numbers are telling a story. This week on News in Brief, The Loadstar team break down Maersk’s Q4 and DSV’s Schenker-fuelled growth, plus the job cuts across both companies.

Alex Lennane also details a tech comment in DSV’s earnings call that’s quietly rattled the freight forwarding world.

The episode also tracks falling ocean rates, firmer air freight prices, rising European road contracts, and fresh questions over when ships will really return to Suez.

Add in Panama port drama, looming parcel fees, Chinese New Year pressures and a hint of Manifest gossip, and you’ve got a lot to catch up on.

Global trade runs on one essential ingredient: access to capital. Yet for millions of businesses, particularly SMEs in emerging markets, trade finance remains complex and out of reach.

In this episode of the Loadstar Podcast, host Charlotte Goldstone is joined by Sinan Ozcan, senior executive officer and board director at DP World Trade Finance, to unpack how trade finance really works, and why it matters more than ever.Since launching in 2021, DP World Trade Finance has mobilised over $1.6 billion in working capital and partnered with more than 30 financial institutions, reshaping how trade is funded by embedding finance directly into DP World’s global ports and logistics ecosystem.

Mr Ozcan draws on more than 25 years of experience across banking, export credit, logistics, and trade finance to explain:

• What the global trade finance gap actually is and why it’s been growing
• How real-time logistics data and cargo visibility can reduce risk and unlock funding
• Why SMEs struggle most to access capital, and how embedded finance helps
• How DP World mitigates fraud, collateral, and credit risk
• The role of free zones and supply chain infrastructure in enabling trade

If you’ve ever been confused by trade finance or wondered how data, logistics, and capital can come together to unlock global trade, listen now!

This week’s News in Brief tracks a fragile balance across global shipping. Fresh investment into CMA CGM’s terminal portfolio highlights carriers’ long-term bets, just as renewed Houthi threats underline how uncertain a return to the Suez Canal remains and why Cape of Good Hope routings are still propping up today’s capacity balance.

Weather disruption across Europe and the US adds another layer of pressure, while earnings updates from UPS and others reveal the ongoing fallout from restructuring, fleet changes and weakening demand.

Gavin van Marle unpacks the latest spot rate movements as the pre–Chinese New Year rush fades and carriers begin discounting to fill ships.

Alex Lennane brings updates from air freight and overland transport, including storm impacts, aircraft retirements and fresh questions around rail consolidation in North America. Plus, a look at one of the few bright spots of the week: a new EU–India trade agreement that could signal a rare shift towards freer trade.

From Red Sea risk to rate wars, this episode lays out what matters now and what to watch next.

In this week’s episode, The Loadstar team explores mounting pressure across shipping, logistics tech and inland transport.

As talk of a return to the Suez Canal continues to swing back and forth, carriers, ports and insurers are all weighing up the risks and potential fallout once mass transits resume. Gavin van Marle unpacks what a Suez comeback could mean for North European and Mediterranean ports.

Alex Lennane joins to take a deeper look at forwarders rethinking their reliance on CargoWise after its controversial pricing overhaul. Are there real alternatives - or is WiseTech’s grip on the market as tight as it seems?

They also examine fresh hurdles facing Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern’s proposed rail merger, after regulators rejected their initial submission, and what that means for overland freight in the US.

Plus, updates on FedEx’s LTL spin-off, early signs of a “reckoning” for ocean carriers amid excess capacity, first glimpses of alliance networks for 2026, and the latest movements in ocean and air freight rates.

From software shockwaves to shifting trade routes, this episode connects the dots across a fast-changing logistics landscape.

This week on the Loadstar News in Brief, Charlotte Goldstone is joined by Alex Lennane and Gavin van Marle to break down a packed week in global supply chain news.

From cooling container spot rates and firmer air cargo pricing to the latest twists in the US tariff saga, we examine what’s really driving the market right now. The team also discusses growing signals of a return to the Suez Canal, airline M&A activity, and why geopolitical uncertainty continues to loom large over freight decisions.

Plus, the team give insights from the BIFA Freight Service Awards and a look at what’s coming up in the week ahead!

2026 gets off to a chilly start for global supply chains. Europe’s major ports are hit by snow and ice, disrupting terminal operations and road and rail links. Meanwhile, carriers are pressing ahead with fresh terminal investments, and Cosco is quietly expanding its hinterland ambitions.

Gavin van Marle breaks down what’s happening on the ocean side as carriers front-load capacity ahead of Chinese New Year and rates settle after the festive period. Alex Lennane joins with a full airfreight reset, as seasonality returns, capacity shifts sharply and shippers weigh whether softening ocean rates could trigger a modal shift away from air.

We also revisit the CargoWise pricing shake-up as the first invoices land and confusion grows, plus an update on the controversial US mega rail merger and what it could mean for inland transport.
From winter disruption to strategic repositioning, this episode sets the tone for the year ahead in freight.

Join The Loadstar team as they round up the hot topics of 2025 and look forward to what might be coming up in 2026.

They detail what one word and song they would use to summarise this year’s antics, plus their winners and losers of all that has transpired in the last 12 months.

This podcast recaps forwarding woes and wins, carrier ambitions, ship fires, AI, ecommerce, trade shifts and much much more. Plus, each of The Loadstar journalists give their bold prediction on what to look out for next year.

So, sit back and relax as we remind you of all the major events that shaped supply-chains in 2025.