IATA Liability Shift Tightens Dock Windows—Here's Why
IATA's new direct air waybill rules shift significant liability from carriers to freight forwarders, forcing them to compress inbound windows and tighten customs commitments. When forwarders tighten windows and Maersk's rate optimism drives volume up, the dock becomes the bottleneck. Importers who don't front-load coordination with their forwarder and 3PL will eat detention costs and missed consolidation cutoffs.