ONE of the most stressful issues for lines and shippers alike, year after year, is the overbooking of space on vessels.
Shippers often feel short-changed by carriers because they feel they can’t get the space they need at times deemed crucial for their business.
Carriers, meanwhile, remark they can’t accurately forecast ship loads, which leads to problems with equipment and space. This further aggravates a difficult situation.
Figuring out a way to handle booking shortfalls would benefit both shippers and carriers. Lines would be better able to respond to the bookings of customers that really want to ship goods on a particular voyage.