Hormuz Escalates, Plastics at Risk, and Reliability Still Broken

Iran has seized two MSC vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, bookings into the Persian Gulf have collapsed 66% year over year, and Somali pirates are back. The maritime risk picture is deteriorating fast.
In this episode, Lars Jensen and Caroline Weaver cover:
• Transpacific NYFI movements by subtrade, including why Northeast Asia rates are more volatile than other origins
• Why 20-foot and 40-foot rates on the Transatlantic have completely decoupled -- and what that means if you're shipping dense cargo
• Asia-North Europe spot rates weakening toward pre-crisis levels, while futures markets signal a recovery into May
• Iran seizing MSC vessels, the Hormuz closure, and the return of Somali piracy
• Plastics supply risk: why a Dow Chemical warning about ethylene and polyethylene shortages should be on every importer's radar
• Ocean carrier reliability at 62% -- why the industry has systematically underperformed pre-pandemic norms, and what that means for global capacity