Container lines

The expansion of the Suez Canal and the reduced draft for ships transiting the Panama Canal won’t immediately impact the rival waterways’ shares of Far East-U.S. East Coast traffic, according to Alphaliner.

China’s currency has now fallen 3.5 percent in two days after the central bank on Tuesday triggered the yuan’s greatest one-day decline in 20 years, and it is expected to fall further as the country struggles to reverse a sharp drop in trade recorded in July.

Container volumes on both the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades in the first half of the year were buffeted by wild swings from month to month, according to data on the east-west shipping routes.

The Panama Canal Authority plans a temporary half-foot reduction in maximum drafts of ships passing through the waterway, and said an additional reduction may be ordered if rainfall stays below normal levels.

The trans-Atlantic bull-run has hit a glitch as a “huge” injection of capacity on the route since May has outpaced the growth in demand, “bringing a predictable outcome” for freight rates, Drewry Maritime Research said.

OOCL, the core liner business of Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, became the latest container carrier to report a first half net profit based largely on significant cost savings across its global network.

United Arab Shipping Co. has ordered another 3,500 reefer containers, after ordering 2,000 units from Japan’s Daikin Industries in January.

At a time when carriers complain that their industry has been commoditized, Matson’s ability to grab market share on the China to West Coast market at a time when many shippers are avoiding the West Coast shows some shippers are willing to pay higher rates for expedited service and reliable landside cargo handling.

The U.S. Maritime Administration is seeking public comment on proposed regulatory changes to implement recent statutory revisions in the Maritime Security Program, which subsidizes commercial operation of militarily useful U.S.-flag ships.

The Chinese government is prohibiting some port service charges and reducing the costs of others in an attempt to galvanize container shipping as the as the country’s container volume growth slows due to reduced global demand.

California’s export trade declined 4.2 percent in June, as weakness in key markets such as China, Japan, the European Union and Latin America and a strong dollar weighed down sales of manufactured and non-manufactured goods.

On-time performance of ships in the Asia-to-U.S. West Coast trade reached 71.4 percent in June as carriers’ schedule reliability in the trade improved for the fourth consecutive month, SeaIntel Maritime Analysis reported.

Matson said it expects its new Alaska service, improved rates in the carrier’s China express service, and growth in its core Hawaii market to produce improvement from second quarter results that were dinged by non-recurring charges.

Global Ship Lease, the NYSE-listed container ship-owner, has started to pay dividends as it reported strong second-quarter results and signalled its intention to grow its charter fleet.

The idle containership fleet is continuing to grow amid a muted peak-shipping season and an increasing number of cancelled sailings on the Asia-Europe route, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.

CMA CGM plans to deploy three 2,100 twenty-foot-equivalent unit container ships with heavy refrigerated capacity on the North Europe-Caribbean trade lane to handle forecasted rising demand.

Egyptian armed forces are on high alert ahead of the ceremony to open the $8 billion, 44.7 mile extension to the Suez Canal Thursday, which will for the first time allow two-way traffic on the canal, creating economic benefits for both international shippers and the local economy.

Egypt should deliver on a commitment to dredge a new Mediterranean access channel to the Suez Canal as soon as possible or it risks derailing the goals of its ambitious Suez-centered development plans.

The world’s largest container carrier — and reefer carrier — Maersk Line is well-versed in the details of shipping temperature-controlled cargoes. William “Bill” Duggan, vice president of North American refrigerated services, recently shared his thoughts on key challenges and opportunities confronting the global reefer market.

At a time when east-west container shipping trades are being pummeled by what Drewry Maritime Research calls a toxic mix of overcapacity, weak demand and aggressive pricing, the trans-Atlantic is standing out as a lone, and surprising, stalwart.

Greek container ship-owner Danaos more than doubled second-quarter earnings as it continued to cut financing costs and increased its charter revenue.

Hawaiian shippers frustrated with high freight rates had their hopes for change dashed last week after a U.S. federal court rejected their bid to strike cabotage provisions from the U.S. Merchant Marine Act.

Trade ministers failed to cinch up a deal between a dozen Pacific Rim nations Friday, what could have been their last chance to negotiate the terms of a Trans-Pacific Partnership before the end of the year.

The slowdown in China’s economy poses some risks for container shipping, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

“It is a historic day – a day for removing barriers,” proclaimed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on July 20, as Cuba and America reopened their embassies and ended a 54-year diplomatic stalemate.

Asia-Europe spot rates more than doubled this week, hitting highs that haven’t been seen in months and giving carriers a much-needed glimmer of hope.

Japan’s three largest container lines saw their net profits surge in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, buoyed by brisk container traffic volume from Asia to the United States as well as a weaker yen and lower fuel prices.

Although U.S. consumer spending is still lagging its potential this year, it is likely to pick up in the second half, but not enough to fill container vessels with the imports needed to support freight rate increases. That was the takeaway from Thursday’s JOC webcast on the Peak Season Shipping Forecast.

With piracy on the rise again, particularly in Southeast Asia, security professionals are recommending conducting more intensive screening of ship crews to create one less possible avenue for criminal elements to gain access to ships.

Mitsui OSK Lines this week said it is launching a barge terminal operation company in Bangkok aimed at moving goods more speedily and efficiently from Thailand's gateway port of Laem Chabang to the capital of Bangkok.

Low Asia-Europe spot rates have forced NOL Group to renegotiate contract rates with some shippers.

Diana Containerships, the Greek charter ship-owner, posted increased second-quarter net income of $891,000 against $633,000 a year ago.

China Shipping Container Lines has placed orders for eight 13,500 twenty-foot-equivalent container ships at Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Shipbuilding, continuing the aggressive fleet expansion began last year.

LONDON – NOL Group swung to a net profit of $890 million in the second quarter from a $54 million loss a year ago, almost entirely due to the gain from the sale of APL Logistics to Japan’s Kintetsu World Express.

Matson plans to invest roughly $30 million in upgrades and new equipment into the new Alaska services it acquired from now-defunct Horizon Lines in May.

Finnlines posted its best second quarter result in a decade as cost cuts offset the impact of a flat Baltic short-sea shipping market.

Hapag-Lloyd has announced a general rate increase for shipments from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to the United States and Canada, as trade has grown by double-digits.

Americans love imported footwear. They bought 2.3 billion pairs of shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals and sundry other styles last year. That comes out to 7.3 pairs for every man, woman and child. While not enough to make Imelda Marcos green with envy, it’s enough to turn a lot of footwear executives gray with worry about where in the world to get them made at a cost and quality that will entice Americans to buy more.

Intra-Asia container shipping is swelling as manufacturing shifts from China to lower-cost countries, and may represent 25 percent of global container trade. In a global context, however, the trade is a 'blind spot' where accurate data and forecasts are hard to come by.