Price discrimination between freight forwarders and carriers: Evidence from the container shipping industry

Freight forwarders often serve as intermediaries in the container shipping industry, facilitating reservations and negotiating container freight rates between shippers and carriers. This study empirically investigates whether these freight forwarders experience price discrimination compared to shippers who engage in direct price negotiations with carriers. The analysis uses a unique dataset consisting of approximately 1.5 million real-world transactions from 2018 to 2023. The results show that, on average, freight forwarders incur a 5 % premium for short-term contracts but receive a 3 % discount for long-term contracts. Moreover, the premium was more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at 18.1 % in 2021–2022. This finding is corroborated by a robust estimation that matches contracts negotiated by freight forwarders with comparable contracts negotiated directly by shippers. • A foundation framework of the existence of price discrimination against freight forwarders. • A unique dataset to document the composition of container shipping contracts and price dynamics. • Results show freight forwarders experience an average price discrimination of 3–5 % compared to direct shippers. • This price gap widens to over 18 % during periods of tight market conditions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.