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GSCW chat recap: Expect detention and demurrage discussion during contract talks

‘This market has sort of driven us to the point that if I don’t have it on the shelf, I’m doing my company a disservice’

Steve Ferreira, CEO of Ocean Audit, and Jack Conaghan, AutoZone’s director of logistics, discuss maritime contracts during Global Supply Chain Week. (Photo: FreightWaves)

This fireside chat recap is from Day 8 of FreightWaves’ Global Supply Chain Week. Day 8 focuses on global maritime logistics.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Crafty ideas for beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) for next-gen contracting

DETAILS: What should a BCO be focusing on during the contract negotiation season? 

SPEAKERS: Steve Ferreira, CEO of Ocean Audit, and Jack Conaghan, AutoZone’s director of logistics


BIOS: Ferreira founded Ocean Audit, a company that focuses on auditing the ocean freight supply chain to discover invoice errors, in 1994. As AutoZone’s director of logistics, Conaghan’s role encompasses small parcels, domestic transportation, international logistics and customs compliance.

KEY QUOTES FROM CONAGHAN 

“This market has sort of driven us to the point that if I don’t have it on the shelf, I’m doing my company a disservice.” 

“If you’re the person within your organization that is charged with negotiating [maritime] contracts, you really need to get a handle on what was your previous year’s volumes, not only overall, but also by what port did it come out of? What container sizes did you utilize and what ports did you ship into?”

“Detention free time/demurrage will be a big part of the contract [in 2021]. I do think that the carriers probably are going to be looking to … diminish your free time. If it’s a new carrier, they’re going to come out of the box with minimal free time. Carriers are looking to get that container into the U.S. and back out of the U.S. so that they can get another turn on it.”

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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact [email protected]