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Use cases

Bring Predictability into an Unpredictable Market with Freight Futures

 
Xeneta helps shippers manage freight exposure with trusted market data, real-time benchmarks, and tools that support index-linked contracts and freight hedging strategies. This is why Euronext bases their Ocean Container Freight Futures (CFF) on Xeneta's XSI-C by Compass.
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Trusted by the world's biggest buyers & sellers of ocean and air freight

The challenge

Freight volatility is no longer just a logistics issue

For many global shippers, freight is a meaningful cost line. When rates swing sharply, contracts break down, or supply becomes unreliable, the impact extends beyond transportation into budgets, margins, working capital, and service performance.

Freight cost volatility creates budget and margin risk

Traditional fixed-rate contracts often fail when the market moves

Unreliable supply drives inventory pressure, cash drag, and service risk

How Xeneta Helps

 

Build resilient freight contracts on a trusted market reference

Xeneta helps Procurement, Finance, and Supply Chain teams replace fragile annual tender cycles with index-linked contracts built on trusted market data. That gives teams a clearer view of market position and a stronger basis for planning.

Xeneta does not execute hedges or act as a broker. We provide the market data and index foundation companies use to benchmark exposure, structure contracts, monitor market moves, and support broker-executed hedging strategies.

 

 

 

 

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Why the index matters

Any contract or hedge is only as strong as the index behind it. If the reference does not reflect the market closely enough, it becomes harder to align physical contracts, financial decisions, and internal budgets.

Xeneta’s data is designed to stay closer to live market conditions, with real-time inputs, quotes as well as contracts, broader rate coverage, and more granular port pairings. That gives teams a more credible reference for both index-linked contracts and external hedging discussions.

 

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What this gives you

A real-time market reference for rates

More confidence when linking contracts to an index

Better lane-level precision with granular port pairings

700m+ freight data points behind every decision

Stronger alignment between Procurement, Finance, and Treasury

A more credible basis for hedging decisions

What You Can Achieve With Freight Futures

Support more predictable budgeting

Use trusted market benchmarks and index-linked structures to reduce the gap between freight budgets and actual market outcomes.

Improve contract sustainability

Move away from “fixed” agreements that fail under stress and toward contract models that remain aligned as markets change.

Strengthen hedging readiness

Give Treasury and Finance a clearer view of exposure and a more reliable market reference to support broker-executed freight hedging.

Reduce procurement friction

Replace lengthy RFQ cycles and repeated renegotiation with data-led agreements built on transparent market movements.

Increase trust across stakeholders

Create a common reference point for suppliers, Procurement, Finance, and Treasury so conversations shift from debate to decision making.

One Trusted Market Reference. Better Contracts. Better Decisions.

 

What hedging using the Xeneta XSI®-C as a reference replaces

What you get instead

Freight rate planning

Annual assumptions that drift away from the market

Real-time benchmark visibility

Contracting

Fixed-rate structures that often break under pressure

Index-linked contracts supported by transparent, trusted data

Hedging readiness

Unclear exposure and weak or degraded reference alignment

A more credible index foundation for broker-executed hedging strategies

Lane visibility

Broad market views with limited precision

More granular port-pair analysis for closer alignment to actual flows

What hedging using the Xeneta XSI®-C as a reference replaces

Freight rate planning

Annual assumptions that drift away from the market

Real-time benchmark visibility

Contracting

Fixed-rate structures that often break under pressure

Index-linked contracts supported by transparent, trusted data

Hedging readiness

Unclear exposure and weak or degraded reference alignment

A more credible index foundation for broker-executed hedging strategies

Lane visibility

Broad market views with limited precision

More granular port-pair analysis for closer alignment to actual flows

What you get instead

Freight rate planning

Annual assumptions that drift away from the market

Real-time benchmark visibility

Contracting

Fixed-rate structures that often break under pressure

Index-linked contracts supported by transparent, trusted data

Hedging readiness

Unclear exposure and weak or degraded reference alignment

A more credible index foundation for broker-executed hedging strategies

Lane visibility

Broad market views with limited precision

More granular port-pair analysis for closer alignment to actual flows

 Who It's Built For 

 

Finance & Treasury

Treat freight as an exposure that can be measured and managed. Xeneta helps you understand market position and build the index foundation needed for external hedging discussions.
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Procurement

Use trusted market intelligence to structure index-linked contracts that reduce tender friction, improve supplier alignment, and support more resilient freight buying.
 
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Frequently asked questions

Does Xeneta hedge freight on behalf of customers?

No. Xeneta does not execute hedges or act as a broker. Xeneta provides the market data, benchmarks, and index foundation that support index-linked contracting and freight hedging strategies executed through third-party brokers.

Why is the index so important

Because physical contracts and financial hedges are only as credible as the reference they rely on. A stronger index helps teams align decisions more closely with real market conditions.

What makes Xeneta’s market reference different?

Xeneta’s positioning emphasizes trusted market intelligence for index-linked contracts, including transparent tracking and market-aligned adjustments. The underlying data is real-time, includes quotes and contracts, is built from more rates, and supports more granular port pairings.

How do freight futures fit into this model?

Index-linked contracts align freight rates to the market. Treasury can then use that indexed exposure as the basis for a hedge executed with an external broker.

Who should be involved internally?

Procurement, Finance, and Treasury should work together. Procurement understands the physical exposure, Finance cares about predictability, and Treasury typically manages hedging governance and execution.

 

 

Ready to take control of freight risk?

Freight volatility may be unavoidable. Budget surprises do not have to be. See how Xeneta’s trusted market data and tools can help you build better contracts and support smarter freight risk decisions.
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