Ro/ro cargo

William Doyle’s departure after three years, announced to Maryland Port Administration employees Friday according to local news reports, came less than a week after he received three traffic citations.

Rising auto and heavy equipment sales are keeping roll-on/roll-off vessels at maximum utilization, and the CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen warns the market will remain tight for years.

Sentiment is more positive in the longer term, with industry observers predicting a rebound in rates from 2024 onwards due to stronger cargo volumes and tight tonnage supply.

Two stevedoring companies are looking to the Federal Maritime Commission to stop what they say is an unlawful access fee at the Port of Baltimore after one of them was invoiced $1.2 million.

deugro and partners Siemens and Amasus will build and deploy two specialized offshore wind ro/ro vessels able to accommodate increasingly large wind turbine components.

Global vehicle manufacturers are still recovering from widespread semiconductor shortages, while domestic automakers and body shops face ongoing delays in components ranging from rear suspensions to front bumpers.

Traditional 3PL provider CEVA plans to lease four new hybrid ro-ro vessels chartered by parent company CMA CGM.

Vehicle demand is expected to offset declining high-and-heavy volumes in 2023, according to car carriers.

A long-time ro/ro executive with Wallenius Wilhelmsen will shift his focus to container BCOs in a new position with the Georgia Ports Authority.

Zeebrugge’s ro/ro traffic rose 6.5 percent in 2022, even as congestion and tight capacity constrained potential growth.

Longer voyages, high demand, and tight capacity are boosting earnings and charter rates in the global car carrier segment.

The new ships ordered by the Grimaldi Group, designed for carrying electric vehicles, will burn 50 percent less fuel than earlier car carriers.

Recovering automobile exports and demand for high and heavy cargo are driving a ro/ro resurgence and a spate of new ship orders.

US auto imports slid 8 percent during the first seven months of 2022, reflecting supply chain snarls, even as high and heavy imports gained steam.

Container ship capacity has become so scarce that cargoes are spilling over not only to breakbulk and multipurpose vessels, but to the roll-on/roll-off sector as well.

Demand for long-haul ro/ro services is strong, but COVID lockdowns and growing global economic uncertainties are constraining vehicle volumes, executives say.

The latest newbuild order from Japan’s MOL continues a flurry of vehicle carrier orders made in the last month that will result in a bigger — and greener fleet — global fleet.

The Georgia Ports Authority plans to spend $150 million to create a “massive gateway port” for ro/ro and breakbulk cargo.

Auto makers and finished vehicle logistics (FVL) service providers say a dearth of car-haul drivers, dockworkers, and auto processing labor could hinder the tentative recovery in auto manufacturing.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance saw record breakbulk tonnage in 2021 thanks to container congestion and booming demand for construction machinery.

Even a slight recovery in auto production means shippers should brace for the reality that already tight vessel capacity will become even scarcer, ro/ro carriers warn.

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

Elevated freight rates and strong high and heavy and breakbulk volumes boosted roll-on/roll-off carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s earnings even as vehicle volumes slide due to chip and parts shortages.

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

While the ro/ro market booms thanks to high consumer demand and spillover container cargo, soaring vessel costs and an ongoing chip shortage add risk.

Ro/ro carriers are adding capacity and ordering ships as Brexit snarls supply chains and complicates European labor shortages.

Car dealers are "screaming" for inventory, but COVID-19 shutdowns and a snarled semiconductor supply chain are throwing up obstacles to production.

Booming demand for machine tools and other breakbulk and high and heavy cargo boosted ro/ro carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s volumes during the second quarter.

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.

The new ships will be capable of using liquefied natural gas, liquefied biogas, and synthetic diesel, with an option for battery power, according to Wallenius Marine.

The first of a new, project-cargo and EV-friendly generation of green pure car and truck carriers is scheduled to arrive at Hoegh Autoliners by the end of 2023.

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

High and heavy shipper John Deere's earnings spiked 137 percent year over year in the first quarter of the company’s fiscal 2021 as strong crop prices and post-pandemic inventory restocking boosted sales.

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.

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.

As congestion and rate pressure continue to squeeze the container market, some breakbulk cargo is shifting out of boxes back to ro/ro.

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

Rising short-term charter rates and recovering cargo volumes are leading ro-ro carriers to reactivate ships in cold lay-up since early 2020.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen turns in a positive third quarter as pent-up demand boosts auto sales while high and heavy cargo wavers.

The car trade will soon be back to pre-COVID levels, according to Grimaldi’s CEO, as the company incorporates 17 green, high-tech newbuildings into its ranks and the European vehicle market adapts to green tech and decarbonization.