Breakbulk carriers

"Spillover" demand in the MPV/HL carrier segment is not yet slowing, thanks to ongoing port congestion and shippers willing to use alternatives to traditional container shipping.

While the urgency of containers being carried on multipurpose/heavy-lift vessels is easing, the spillover market will continue to affect the MPV sector into 2023, analysts say.

Lasse Kristoffersen, former CEO of bulk operator Torvald Klaveness, will take the helm of Wallenius Wilhelmsen

Consolidation and a looming capacity shortage will shape the MPV sector once the spillover market has calmed.

Both shipper panic and carrier euphoria are calming as the breakbulk market becomes more predictable, albeit at higher rates.

A strong short-term market is pushing MPV/HL demand, but carriers sense the market frenzy is abating.

While the “spillover” container market that is driving up MPV rates and creating a capacity shortage will eventually dissipate, in the longer term a low orderbook could mean a capacity shortage, analyst Drewry says.

The spillover market will not dissipate until box rates dip below five figures, according to Geodis' senior VP for global ocean freight.

Skyrocketing demand is pushing imports into the US toward MPV/HL and other non-container carriers in a wave of spillover cargo.

In a change from long-held norms, earlier contracting is becoming more standard in the breakbulk and project market as cargo shippers labor to secure capacity and reduce risk and price volatility.

Oslo-based Höegh’s latest order for vehicle carriers comes amid growth in imports of China-made vehicles at European ports.

Container shippers are increasingly switching to breakbulk solutions to move their cargo, pushing MPV/HL bookings into the fall and driving up rates.

Controlling dangerous wood-boring pests in wood packaging material will require more consistent enforcement across the US and helping the private sector learn how to look for these pests themselves.

Forward bookings are becoming the norm as some MPV/HL carriers require premiums for laycan dates, and a dearth of newbuildings in the sector implies that the current market will not slow down in the short term.

Shippers eager to move computer components, semiconductor chips, and auto production parts are eating up super-heavy air capacity even as demand for traditional OOG cargo improves.

Spillover container cargo is driving the strongest breakbulk market in more than a decade, MPV/HL carriers say.

MOL’s order for LNG-fueled car carriers shows that ro-ro newbuildings are stacking up as the sector pivots toward lower-carbon and next-generation fuels.

As desperate shippers search for cargo solutions and sop up breakbulk capacity, the new MPV/HL sentiment index reveals strong short-term confidence but longer-term wariness in the breakbulk sector.

MPVs are booked through the summer, but improving charter rates are not yet sufficient to support newbuildings, analysts say.

After a long slump, strengthening MPV freight rates could encourage reinvestment in the sector for the first time in a decade.

Worried forwarders are struggling to find transport solutions for their clients in a congested global shipping market, pushing formerly containerized cargoes out of boxes and into breakbulk modes.

Breakbulk freight rates are climbing, but uncertainty about new fuels, ship designs, and the long-term strength of the market are holding back orders for new ships.

As cargo demand surges, multipurpose, container, and dry bulk carriers are all competing for tonnage and pushing up vessel charter rates.

A US trade court’s ruling that an expansion of tariffs to include finished steel products was invalid allows shippers to claw back import levies, but steel importers say they need a full rollback before shipments can grow.

Energy cargo is recovering a year after the pandemic-fueled crash in oil prices, just as the breakbulk carrier market heats up.

German regulators approved an alliance between Jumbo and SAL that concentrates super-heavy-lift capacity in the hands of fewer players as the project market begins to recover from both long-term and pandemic-driven doldrums.

Drewry’s multipurpose index bounced 15 percent and the inaugural Market Sentiment Index has revealed a wary optimism as the MPV sector benefits from container chaos.

The MPV/HL market is on the upswing, but a lack of finance and lingering overcapacity will hold back investment in new ships.

Toepfer's multipurpose rate index tracks recovery as container-side chaos continues to benefit the breakbulk market

A new super-heavy-lift joint venture, if approved, will benefit from an offshore wind market poised to expand through 2050.

Container market woes and a booming bulk market are cutting competition and boosting freight rates for the multipurpose/heavy-lift sector.

Grimaldi and United European Car Carriers are pursuing lower emissions vessels, and Wallenius Wilhelmsen is taking three more ships out cold layup to serve a rebounding vehicle cargo market

The IMO's low-carbon standards and shippers eager to reduce their carbon footprints are pushing vessel operators toward lower-emission designs such as WW’s wind-powered ship.

Drewry's charter rate index is up 2.2 percent for February as COVID-19 lockdowns drive consumers to favor premium container cargoes.

Wind energy cargoes boosted the Port of Longview’s breakbulk volumes, while high and heavy drove growth at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

Regulators have now fined ocean carriers Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean (WWO), NYK RORO, and “K” Line a total of $63 million for price fixing on vehicle shipping services on routes to Australia.

Toepfer Transport's MPV/HL rate forecast climbs to $7,146 as optimism grows in the breakbulk market amid a new US presidential administration seen as favorable to renewables.

A microprocessor chip shortage and new COVID-19 spread could slow recovery by hampering vehicle production.

In a further sign of a tumultuous market, UHL's newest "Eco-Lifter" will deliver containers to Europe on its maiden voyage.

A state-wide commitment to renewables is behind a massive increase in project cargo tonnage at the Northern California port of Stockton.