Every ocean freight invoice has two components. BAF is transparent and separately managed. The base rate hides something important inside it.
BAF was pulled out of the base rate decades ago because fuel costs are volatile and external. That made it worth managing separately.
Service costs change slowly — maybe once a year at contract renewal. Space costs change week to week, driven by demand surges, blank sailings, and seasonal peaks. One is a known cost. The other is a market risk.
This mismatch exists in every market cycle. The AEU price adjusts to reflect conditions; service contracts stay intact.
The industry already separated fuel costs from the base rate because they were volatile and external. Space scarcity has the exact same properties.
The Allocation Equivalent Unit — a tradeable loading guarantee that lives alongside your contract, not inside it.
Shippers purchase AEUs from carriers through Laneway by service and week, 8–12 weeks before sailing. Space is priced — visible, tradable, and guaranteed.
Space becomes visibleIf shipper forecasts change, they buy or sell AEUs on the Laneway market. The slot moves to someone who needs it — the carrier's vessel stays full.
Cancellations become cargoShippers attach the AEU code to their contract booking. The carrier recognizes the code and attaches the loading guarantee — no new systems, no workflow changes.
Space guaranteed
When fuel was bundled into the base rate, neither shippers nor carriers could manage it effectively. Separating BAF gave both sides transparency and control over a volatile cost.
Space scarcity is the same kind of cost — volatile, external, and impossible to manage when it's hidden. Separating it unlocks the same benefits.
The TEU prices the service. The AEU prices the space. The BAF prices the fuel.
Three distinct costs, each visible, priced, and managed on its own terms.