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The Merchant
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The weekly briefing on global freight.

Every Thursday morning, 5 minutes to understand what's moving across ocean, air and land routes. Clear, sharp, actionable.

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210 issues5 years of analysis+10,000 subscribers0 sponsored content

What is The Merchant?

The Merchant is the weekly newsletter on international freight published by OVRSEA, a digital freight forwarder. Every Thursday morning, it breaks down ocean and air freight rates, vessel and aircraft capacity, ports, customs and the geopolitical risks that affect importers' and exporters' flows.

Published weekly for 5 years and signed by Arthur Barillas, CEO of OVRSEA, it is read by more than 10,000 supply chain professionals: logistics and transportation leaders, freight buyers, and executives at importing and exporting companies.

The newsletter comes in four language editions: The Merchant in English, Le Chargeur in French, El Expedidor in Spanish and Il Mercante in Italian. Subscribing is free, with no sponsored content; all past issues can be read on this page.

A peek at the latest edition

What you actually get.

The Merchant

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What you'll get

A proven structure, built for shippers and freight buyers. No filler.

The number

A data point that matters

The market KPI of the week - freight rates, volumes, capacity - placed in business context.

The word

A term decoded

A supply chain concept explained clearly, straight to the point.

3 articles

The news that affects you

The three stories of the week that will hit your flows: geopolitics, capacity, regulation, tech.

Latest editions

A real look at what lands in your inbox every Thursday.

n°210 · October 15, 2026

The Merchant - Carriers plot GRIs, AI squeezes air capacity

  • 🚢 Ocean carriers plot GRI salvo
  • ✈️ Shippers warned AI demand will add to capacity crunch
  • 💵 Tariff refund dollars may have outsized market impact
  • Did you know?
Read →
n°209 · October 8, 2026

The Merchant - Peak season rolls on, AI fuels air cargo demand

  • 🚢 Carriers plan “golden” Q4 as peak season rolls on
  • ✈️ AI industry likely to push Q4 air freight market skyward
  • 🤝 Sino-US trade thaw pushes supply chains back to China
  • Did you know?
Read →
n°208 · October 1, 2026

The Merchant - $30 billion tariff cut agreed, but Chinese ports face a long recovery

  • 🌀 Chinese ports face extended recovery period
  • ✈️ Shippers face Trans-Pacific air freight holiday squeeze
  • 🤝 China tariff deal tantalizes shippers
  • Did you know?
Read →
n°207 · September 23, 2026

The Merchant - Trans-Pacific rates near pandemic-era highs as Golden Week looms

  • 🚢 Trans-Pacific East Coast rates near pandemic-era highs as Golden Week looms
  • 📦 Overcapacity threat looms once again
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n°206 · September 16, 2026

The Merchant - US customs tightens the net

  • ✈️ US shippers bear brunt of air cargo turbulence
  • 🚢 Carriers deploy blankings to stretch peak season
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n°205 · September 10, 2026

The Merchant - Carrier discipline extends the trans-Pacific peak season, and Panama Canal delays reach the East Coast

  • 🚢 Carrier discipline leads to peak season payoffs
  • ✈️ Tight capacity counteracts seasonal air freight lull
  • ⚓ Panama Canal delays start to impact US East Coast
Read →
See 77 older editions

Frequently asked questions

What is The Merchant newsletter?

The Merchant is OVRSEA's weekly newsletter on international freight. Each issue analyses freight rates, ocean and air capacity, customs and the events shaping global supply chains, in a few minutes of reading.

Who writes The Merchant?

The Merchant is signed by Arthur Barillas, CEO of OVRSEA. Every issue lists its sources.

Is The Merchant free?

Yes, subscribing to The Merchant is free. The newsletter carries no sponsored content and you can unsubscribe in one click.

Who is The Merchant for?

Shippers: companies that move goods internationally. Supply chain and logistics leaders, transportation managers, importers and exporters, from SMEs to large groups.

Is The Merchant available in other languages?

Yes. The newsletter comes in four language editions: The Merchant in English, Le Chargeur in French, El Expedidor in Spanish and Il Mercante in Italian.

Got a question about your flows?

Ask it: the editorial team answers it in an upcoming edition, with the figures and the sources. One reader question per edition.

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