# Volatile Freight Rates in Maritime Container Industry in Times of Crises
## 4 Conclusions  
Maritime transport assumes central position in global economy and its key segment is the maritime container industry. Maritime container transport dominates, first of all, due to its cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Container ships support modern lifestyle by transporting large amounts of goods from the point of production to the point of the final consumption. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine had an impact on the entire world, and this market is no exception. Although the market is familiar with the oscillations in demand and the shipping companies are prepared for such disruptions, no one could have predicted this kind of volatility in demand. Despite the lessons that the maritime container industry has learned from previous crises, no one could have predicted such significant fluctuations in the demand and supply of transport services as in the COVID-19 crisis. As outlined earlier, freight rates during the year 2021 increased almost sevenfold. Freight rates on the maritime container market have recorded record values due to this volatility in demand, followed by the provisions on the use of low sulfur fuels laid down by the International Maritime Organization and further prompted by the Suez Canal obstruction. This means that the activities taken so far are not effective and other solutions should be sought to prevent the increase in maritime container freight costs. However, it is not an easy task. The recovery of global economy is under threat due to these rapid increases of the freight rates in maritime container industry, which also creates additional disruptions in the supply chains. Increase in the freight rates on this market will have an impact on the production cost and the prices of the products that depend on this industry's services. As already mentioned, consumer goods price increase resulting from the change in freight rates is predicted to be 1.5% in 2023. This is especially significant for least developed countries and islands. There, the expected increases of consumer goods prices, resulting from increases in freight rates, may reach almost 9% in 2023. For these countries, an additional barrier is the distance between them and the developed countries and efforts should be made towards reducing this barrier. We are already witnessing continuous growth of the consumer goods prices in the European Union, which started when the pandemic first broke out and was yet more intensified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This invasion has further undermined the stability of the global market that was just starting its way to the recovery. This invasion that is, unfortunately, still ongoing has caused strong disruptions that have spilled over around the world and it is assumed that the process of returning to the state from before the crisis will be extremely strenuous. More and more economies are facing inflationary pressures, imbalances on the financial markets, problems with the procurement of the goods that are imported from the Russian and the Ukrainian markets. Disruptions caused by the pandemic have reflected in both supply and demand and they suggest the need for developing great flexibility to soften the risks from the pandemic and to balance the demand. Freight rates have been rising since the beginning of the pandemic. However, their greatest growth dynamics was recorded shortly after the commencement of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to earlier experiences with crisis situations, it is expected that the disruptions will hit smaller economies more severely and will affect the dynamics of the recovery of certain national economies. The extent of the impact on the prices of products depends on how much the products are included in the global supply chains. The major challenge the global maritime industry is facing is establishing a system of resilience to the disruptions. Companies must develop more flexible capacities to be able to adapt more quickly to the crises in the future.