Container freight rate indexes explained: WCI, FBX, SCFI and more
A reference guide to the main container freight rate indexes: what WCI, FBX, SCFI, NCFI and Xeneta XSI measure, how each is quoted, and how to cite a rate.
Guides
Reference material on how container shipping works: the units, the pricing mechanics, the route structures and the paperwork. Updated when industry practice changes.
Demurrage vs detention: who charges what, and when
Demurrage applies when a loaded container sits at the terminal past free time; detention applies once the box is held outside it. A guide to who charges whom.
How container ships are sized: classes, TEU capacity and limits
How container ship size classes are defined, from feeders to 24,000 TEU ultra-large vessels, and how canals, draft, cranes and demand set the limits.
What is a blank sailing? Container capacity and schedules
A blank sailing is a scheduled container voyage or port call that a carrier cancels. Why they happen, how they are announced, and what shippers can do.
What Is a Shipping Alliance? How Liner Alliances Work in 2026
A liner shipping alliance is a vessel-sharing partnership between container lines. Learn how alliances differ from VSAs and what reshuffles mean for shippers.
What is TEU? Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit Explained
TEU, the twenty-foot equivalent unit, is container shipping's standard measure of capacity. See what a TEU counts, where it is used, and what it leaves out.