Commentary: When is a carrier price gouging?

There is a lot of talk about the recently soaring spot rates in trans-Pacific container trade. Year-over-year increases of 70% and higher are hard to ignore, especially in the middle of a pandemic – a time when many are working desperately to keep supply chains intact. Shipper associations may become even more concerned given the degree of consolidation among container carriers. But is this a group of carriers that are price gouging their shipper customers?