Container lines

Rising charter rates helped Greek container shipowner Box Ships narrow its first-quarter loss close to break even.

The results of the 2015-2016 trans-Pacific contracting season are mostly in, and although carriers dug in their heels to get rate increases, for the most part they fell short of getting what they wanted.

Vessel reliability in the trans-Pacific trades is beginning to improve now that West Coast labor issues have been resolved, but it still has a long way to go before it is acceptable, metrics provided by Seaintel Maritime Analysis and the Marine Exchange of Southern California show.

CMA CGM is launching a trans-Atlantic service with Hamburg Sud and United Arab Shipping Co., and enhancing another service after the French carrier shipped 35 percent more volume between the U.S. East Coast and North Europe in the first three months compared to the same period year ago.

Canadian containerized imports are slated to rise 4 percent this year compared to last year, according to World Trade Services, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS Maritime & Trade.

The idle container fleet shrank slightly to 101 vessels with a total capacity of 323,000 20-foot-equivalent units on May 18 from 106 ships aggregating 348,000 TEUs two weeks earlier, according to Alphaliner.

Two decades after the enactment of NAFTA, the debate over free trade has again risen to the top of the U.S. political agenda. This time, the controversy rages around the looming Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade bloc that would unite the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim countries in a wide-ranging pact that would establish new rules for international trade, intellectual property and foreign investment.

Rising charter costs and bunker prices might slow container lines' rate push. It has been a sobering fortnight for the liner shipping sector, with most of the freight increases from the May 1 general rate increases on several trade lanes disappearing fast

Shipping businesses in China are finally emulating their Western peers by embracing the opportunities and challenges brought by the internet, cloud computing, and big data.

Mexican exports this year are set rise 5 percent on increased demand for automobile shipments and other manufactured goods built in Latin America’s second-largest economy.

United Arab Shipping Co., a member of the Ocean Three Alliance, has taken delivery of the world’s greenest ultra-large container ship.

A new report from the International Maritime Organization warns that shipping emissions could spike 250 percent over the next 35 years.

It’s no secret that specialized carriers are losing refrigerated cargo market share to containerized carriers, but details about why it’s happening, how much cargo is really shifting and who ultimately will control which pieces of the market are less apparent.

Shipping Corporation of India swung to $31.5 million net profit in fiscal year 2014-15, which ended March 31, from a $43.2 million loss in the previous year, driven by continued cost-cutting and improved freight earnings that helped compensate for a marginal decline in operating revenue.

Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are the biggest beneficiaries of increased U.S. demand for European goods and materials, according to PIERS, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS Martime & Trade.

Demurrage and per-diem detention fees at gridlocked U.S. ports have turned into a multimillion-dollar hot potato. Cargo interests, truckers, ocean carriers and marine terminals are locked in noisy, seemingly nonstop argument over responsibility for the fees. It’s a complex problem with no easy solution — but plenty of finger-pointing.

DFDS, the short-sea shipping and logistics group, raised its full year earnings outlook after operating profit surged 150 percent in the first quarter as higher freight traffic on its North European network offset lower volumes on Russian routes.

The Suez Canal is scheduled to be wider and deeper by the end of the summer, but the potential savings of time and money for shippers and carriers is not a concern for Panama Canal Authority CEO Jorge Quijano said Wednesday.

Maersk’s SeaLand brand focused on Americas trade on Wednesday said it would tie-up with APL to launch a weekly service connecting Colombia, Panama and the U.S. East Coast, starting as soon as next month.

Container lines’ on-time reliability in April was the best since October, indicative of a return to “normal” operations in the major trade lanes, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services returned to profit in the first quarter as a multi-billion dollar restructuring and sharply lower fuel prices accelerated its financial revival after seven straight years in the red.

Footwear importers are doing more business in Southeast Asia than ever before, and imports from that region will grow even faster if the U.S. approves the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

Despite an environment of overcapacity, two of the largest carriers in the Asia-Europe trade intend to increase freight rates on June 1.

Sluggish demand and unfavorable exchange rates are driving down U.S. containerized exports to Africa and having the reverse effect on American imports from the continent.

Long-haul banana trades continue to flourish as consumers in Asia add more of the fruit to their diets.

Container carrier APL said it will replace its current Singapore West Asia Express (SWX) service in the intra-Asia trade with a new weekly service, branded the Asia Sub-continent (AS1), starting at the end of this month.

The Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement has responded to queries from forwarders about contract guidelines introduced this year that recommend its member carriers set rates for 20-foot containers at 90 percent of the rates charged for FEUs.

CMA CGM’s consolidated net profit soared to $406 million in the first quarter from $97 million a year ago as the French carrier capitalized on efficiency gains, cost cuts and sharply lower bunker prices.

India’s exports got off to a disappointing start in fiscal year 2015-16, with shipments to the rest of the world in April — the first fiscal month — recording a 14 percent year-over-year decline, according to preliminary trade figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The North Atlantic, for long the “sleeping dog“ of container trades, is “waking up,” as rising European imports on the back of a strong U.S. dollar lift freight rates and attract new services, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

Maersk Line has entered into a vessel sharing agreement with Mediterranean Shipping Co, its 2M alliance partner, and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on the Asia to East Coast of South America trade route.

Taiwan’s three top lines became the latest carriers to join the black numbers club, all recording net profit for the first quarter on the back of rising revenue and falling operating costs.

The banana industry in the Philippines is hoping the rainy season will be on schedule as strong demand for the fruit is threatened by an El Niño-induced dry spell in the Southeast Asian country.

Marine insurers that underwrite policies for ultra-large container ships are assessing the many problems they present, and question whether they can handle potential losses.

The new energy independence of the U.S. has sent African imports of crude oil plummeting, according to PIERS, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS Maritime and Trade.

A country that is seldom mentioned as an alternative to manufacturing in mainland China is Taiwan, its neighbour and disputed territory just across the strait.

Evergreen Line this month will launch a new intra-Asia service in partnership with Cosco and China Shipping, enhancing the Taiwan carrier’s intra-Asia operations.

Cosco Container Lines earlier this month launched a bi-weekly service from Yueyang, a city by the Yangtze River in Hunan province, to Vietnam and Thailand, allowing shippers to get their goods delivered a week faster than through past transfer services.

China Cosco Holdings pushed ahead with its fleet scrapping plan last month by dismantling two container ships and two bulk carriers.

Finnlines scraped a small profit in the first quarter as it spent heavily on technology to comply with tougher environmental regulations for ships sailing in North European waters.