Booking a container should be simple. But for most global shippers, it’s anything but.
Manual emails. Spreadsheets. Phone calls to confirm rates that may or may not still be valid. It’s a process stuck in the past — slowing teams down and adding avoidable risk.
Meanwhile, air freight, parcel, and other industries have embraced real-time, digital bookings. Ocean freight? Still waiting.
Behind every container is a chain of outdated steps:
You request a quote from a forwarder or carrier
Wait hours (sometimes days) for a response
Compare options across inboxes or Excel
Confirm the booking — hoping rates haven’t shifted
It’s inefficient. It’s prone to errors. And it opens the door to missed savings or last-minute surprises.
The problem isn’t a lack of data. It’s how disconnected, slow, and fragmented that data remains.
The rest of global shipping has moved forward:
Airlines offer real-time booking APIs
E-commerce platforms provide instant pricing
Even road freight is catching up with self-serve portals
But ocean freight? Despite moving 90% of global trade, it’s lagging behind.
Shippers are forced to rely on legacy systems, manual rate sheets, and outdated processes that belong in a different decade.
It’s not just frustrating — it’s costly. Every delay in the booking process compounds downstream: delayed sailings, higher rates, disrupted supply chains.
The good news? Change is underway.
Leading carriers are rolling out modern APIs
Rate management platforms are evolving
AI is beginning to clean up the noise and connect the dots
The future is faster, smarter, and self-serve. But teams clinging to 2005-era processes will fall behind — and pay the price in higher costs and lost agility.
At Ship Angel, we believe booking a container should feel like 2025 — not 2005.
Want to discover what's next for bookings?
Book a demo with Ship Angel.