Complexities in managing annual cargo rate negotiations have been exposed by the Covid-19 virus with shippers and forwarders struggling to understand what cargo commitments they can make, while the carriers’ demands must also be kept at a reasonable level.
That then begs the question what is reasonable? And to answer that question you will need to know when and how the Covid-19 crisis will end. That is why minimum quantity commitments (MQC) are front and centre of the contract negotiations...
https://container-news.com/known-unknowns-add-up-to-a-complex-pacific-contract-picture/