BCO Conference 2025: shiftX achieves 13% growth through global partnerships

Over 100 shippers and logistics experts discussed current trends, capacities, and rates in sea freight at the BCO Conference 2025 at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg.

The organizer of what is now the seventh industry meeting since 2018 is shiftX GmbH, an alliance of cooperating companies that bundles its transport volumes to achieve better conditions, predictable capacities, and greater resilience, particularly in Far East-Europe traffic.

Significant growth in all areas
At the start of the conference, managing directors Antonios Rigalos and Stephan Schiller reported strong growth:

• The booking volume of current annual contracts with shipping companies rose by 13% in the first six months.
• The number of members in the shiftX network grew by 20% to currently 63 beneficial cargo owners (BCOs).
• For the 2026/27 tender, shiftX plans to further increase the total volume by up to 25%.

New partnership for greater transparency and better results
One highlight of the conference was the presentation of the strategic partnership between shiftX and Xeneta by Patrik Berglund, CEO of the benchmarking platform Xeneta. The goals of the cooperation are transparency in market and price developments, better data-based decisions, and optimized results for BCOs. This partnership strengthens the position of BCOs in global competition and supports planning security in a volatile market environment.

Internationalization and innovation
With the new country organization in the UK, presented by Keith Gaskin, and the Asian platform OriginX, presented by Conor Henton, shiftX is focusing on a harmonized operating model for booking, first mile, warehousing, and purchase order management.

Market developments and outlook
Experts such as Jan Tiedemann (AXS Marine) and James Hookham (Global Shippers Forum) highlighted the challenges posed by geopolitical tensions, rerouting, and volatile rates. Sebastian von Hayn (Maersk) showed how the Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd is increasing reliability in liner shipping.

Dr. Cyrus de la Rubia (Hamburg Commercial Bank) provided macroeconomic perspectives, noting that moderate global growth, high interest rates, and structural trends such as de-globalization and decarbonization will shape the coming years. Henning Meyerhoff and Thomas Sengotta (CGI) demonstrated how AI-based capacity forecasts can enable savings of up to 35 percent.

Conclusion
shiftX relies on cooperation, technology, and internationalization to offer shippers planning security and competitive advantages even in a volatile market environment.