The global ocean market is officially in uncharted waters. Rates rise and fall with no logic. Demand is soft, capacity is high, and yet carriers push General Rate Increases hoping to mask deeper structural weaknesses.
As Jon Monroe, of the Transpacific, wrote this week — “the traditional laws of supply and demand have been tossed overboard.”
He’s right.
When the old rules break, new systems are built. That’s the space Aircon was created for.
The Perfect Storm Is a Perfect Test
Ocean carriers are being forced to rewrite playbooks under pressure from regulation, tariffs, and shifting sourcing patterns. Production is moving from China to Vietnam, India, and Mexico. Port volumes are shifting east. Supply chains are redrawing themselves in real time.
The same dynamics that are shaking ocean freight will soon reach air.
And we see it every day- forwarders being asked to do more with less, compete faster, and operate with tighter margins while data flows scatter across carriers, partners, and ports.
This is where agentic AI earns its keep.
At Aircon, our system is more than just automating quotes. We’re building the connective tissue between systems that can’t talk, regions that can’t align, and teams that can’t see each other clearly in the fog of volatility.
Our View From F0
In the F0 seat (he neutral space between forwarder (F1) and their customer (F2)) Aircon sees the pattern forming:
When rates no longer follow logic, decision-making has to. That’s why we’re focused on clarity. Delivering systems that think faster, respond smarter, and let people do what humans do best: lead through uncertainty.
Perspective, Not Panic
Jon’s latest note is a reminder: volatility reveals true character. For carriers, it’s a test of resilience. For forwarders, it’s a test of adaptability.
For Aircon, it’s a test of vision.
We were never built to chase calm seas. We were built to help the industry move through storms with intelligence, integrity, and faith in the people who make trade possible.
Because the future of logistics won’t be won by the biggest, it’ll be led by the most connected.
