Container lines

Major container carriers such as Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co., United Arab Shipping Co., Hamburg Sud and Hapag-Lloyd are among those making significant investments in their reefer business to help offset slower growth in other business areas.

An arm of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said stronger action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, and that a carbon tax on shipping would be a way to achieve it.

Pharmaceutical companies have increased their oceangoing share of shipments. Ocean carriers and cold chain service providers are happy for the business, but the moves have also creased concerns over insurance and liability.

Hapag-Lloyd is pressing ahead with its initial public offering despite market volatility that has prompted some other German firms to re-think their share listing plans, the chief executive of the world’s fifth largest ocean carrier said.

Analysis of the giant Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement continues to pour in, with a top China economist predicting it will slash 2.2 percent off the mainland GDP while maritime analyst Drewry said the deal would lead to increasing container volumes.

Singapore-based APL has added a new connection to its recently announced Eagle Express service between Asia and the U.S. that will link the islands of Guam and Saipan to Yokohama from Nov. 24.

Growth in consumption of fruits, vegetables, meat and fish in emerging and newly industrialized countries should accelerate in the coming years, creating tailwinds for reefer container and specialized reefer operators.

China’s New Silk Road trade route initiative will benefit both China and Pakistan. And while international opposition is expected, internal politics pose the main threat to the largest-ever foreign investment in the Pakistani state.

Spot rates on containerized imports from Asia were flat to down this past week even though October is normally the peak month of the year in the eastbound Pacific. Hopes for a strong peak season are therefore fading fast.

Investigators seeking to determine why the TOTE Maritime cargo ship El Faro sank in Hurricane Joaquin last week with the loss of its 33-member crew are taking a close look at the vessel’s sister ship.

Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines may incur a group net loss in the first half of fiscal 2015, which started in April, due to an extraordinary charge resulting from the collapse of Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha, a mid-size domestic peer and equity-method affiliate.

CMA CGM today confirmed it is in talks with the Yildirim Group over the sale of the Turkish conglomerate’s 24 percent stake in the French ocean carrier.

South Korea’s container shipping companies Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine are leading the country’s cautious financial recovery, but it’s unclear if the good times will last.

Among the top 10 fastest-growing Asian sources of U.S. imports are a number of nations, such as China, South Korea and Vietnam, that have long played a dominant role in global supply chains for both raw materials and finished products. But there are also a number of surprises on the list.

An increase in the annual subsidy for operation of U.S.-flag ships under the Maritime Security Program has been inserted into a U.S. House bill to lift the United States’ 40-year-old ban on oil exports.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services refused to comment on reports it is planning an initial public offering in the U.S. next year.

The imminent suspension of several liner services between Asia and the U.S. East Coast and South America during the slack shipping season threatens to put as many as 50 Panamax container ships out of work by January, according to Alphaliner.

Hyundai Merchant Marine said it will spin off its dry bulk division and its two U.S. West Coast container terminals as the Korean company seeks to bolster liquidity at its core container shipping business.

The Coast Guard said its search for the 33 persons aboard the cargo ship El Faro would be halted at 7 p.m. EDT Wednesday, more than six days after the TOTE Maritime cargo ship sank off the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin.

A Trailer Bridge triple-deck barge broke loose from the tug that was towing it from San Juan to Jacksonville, Florida, last weekend during the same hurricane that claimed TOTE Maritime’s El Faro.

Four out of five ships operated by the world’s 20 largest container lines arrived in port on time in August, the best performance since November 2013, SeaIntel Maritime Analysis said in its Global Liner Performance report.

Searchers are combing the Atlantic today in the fast-dwindling hope of finding survivors among the 33-member crew of the TOTE Maritime cargo ship El Faro, which sank five days ago during a Category 4 hurricane off the Bahamas.

China’s slowdown is causing jitters at the highest business levels with excitement over a deal reached on the Trans-Pacific Partnership tempered by the World Bank cutting its growth forecast for Asia-Pacific on concerns over the mainland’s weakening economic performance.

A body of one crew member of the TOTE Maritime cargo ship El Faro has been found, the Coast Guard said, and the search continues for the remainder of the 33-member crew of the vessel, which sank during Hurricane Joaquin.

When the Panama Canal’s expansion is completed, likely next year despite the likelihood of fresh delays, it will immediately orphan a class of ships specifically designed to maximize use of the existing canal. This could have a big impact on container ship supply in coming years.

The U.S. Coast Guard has resumed its search for a missing TOTE Maritime roll-on, roll-off/container ship with 33 crew members that was caught in Hurricane Joaquin, near Crooked Island, Bahamas.

Some ocean carriers are exploring a rail route through Honduras to move containers from Asia to the North American East Coast, a Federal Maritime Commissioner said at a Port of New York-New Jersey Port Industry Day forum.

Expectations of a rebound in daily rates for charter container ships following the end of the summer holidays are being quashed as container lines reduce their active route capacity.

Maersk Line will this month start a direct service between Thailand and Australia, eliminating the need to make transshipment calls at other Southeast Asian hubs and cutting down both transit time and costs for shippers.

Repairs to the Panama Canal's new locks will be more extensive than previously indicated, and the date for their completion is uncertain.

Container ship operators are being told that finding new ways to cut costs to stay profitable is the "new normal" in container shipping. The discipline is being imposed on them, in part, by orders for large newbuildings, which will postpone cyclical recovery.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services announced it is upgrading its Asia-Mediterranean service network, comprising the East Med-Black Sea Express, or EMX, and the Asia-India Subcontinent East Med, or AME, by adding new port calls and upsizing tonnage deployment.

Plummeting cargo flows to Venezuela are forcing major carriers and feeder operators to reduce services as they grapple with poor port productivity and hinterland connections.

Maersk relaunched SeaLand in January to provide more specialized service in the Americas’ north-south trade. After some early hiccups, it is now reporting solid progress.

The fleet of idle container ships over 500 twenty foot equivalent units surged by 90,000 TEUs in the past two weeks to reach 673,000 TEUs, or 3.4 percent of global capacity, the highest rate since March 2014, according to Alphaliner.

Carriers in the G6 Alliance have announced new sailing cuts in services from Asia, this time to both the U.S. East and West coasts from late October as the container shipping heads into the slow season.

Refrigerated ocean cargo volumes are bound to grow at an accelerated pace in the coming years despite economic difficulties in key emerging markets, experts say.

U.S. containerized imports this year will surpass 20 million 20-foot-equivalent units for the first time, driven by continued strength in housing, automobiles and consumer spending, predicts JOC Senior Economist Mario O. Moreno.

In a break with tradition, Maersk Line is transferring the operation of a dozen container vessels to two German ship-management companies.