Episode #20: The $4,000 Port Fee Gamble and the "Out-of-Office" Index

Container Bytes: Weekly Ocean & Air Freight Intelligence for Supply Chain Pros · Feb 19, 2026 · 7m

They never thought we'd make it, but here we are: Episode 20. We’ve been talking about Lunar New Year for six weeks, but we were still blindsided by the reality of it this week. Forget the traditional benchmarks—Judah’s inbox is currently the world’s most accurate economic indicator, overflowing with hundreds of out-of-office replies.

In this episode, we break down the Ocean Rate Cliff, with East Coast rates falling 12% to $3,000/container. We also dive into the week's biggest shocker: the White House’s Maritime Action Plan. We’re talking about proposed port call fees that could hit as high…