Container lines

Spot rates and volume from China to the U.S. East Coast continued to rise through March, signs that West Coast congestion is still driving cargo owners to other ports.

When congestion last fall forced dozens of ships to anchor off the West Coast and crippled the flow of cargo through the nation’s largest ports, it couldn’t have come at a worse time for beneficial cargo owners racing to get their goods to store shelves in time for the holidays. The extent of the damage — lost sales, unfulfilled orders and loss of business to other countries — increases in clarity when analyzing the latest U.S. import and export data for 2014.

APL is reorganizing the port rotation of its intra-Asia service — West Asia Express, or WAX — effective this month.

For the first time, the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, a discussion group representing 15 of the largest carriers in the trans-Pacific trade lanes, is pushing for base levels during the current contracting season, a departure from its longstanding policy of issuing targets for rate increases.

The charter market for midsize container ships below 4,000 20-foot-equivalent-unit capacity is nearly back in balance after seven years, according to a Hamburg ship broker.

India-Bangladesh cross-border trade received a major fillip with the introduction of a new coastal shipping service between the two neighboring nations.

Merchant ship operators have joined with seafarers’ unions urging European Union member states to take immediate action to curb the growing humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean, which they say is putting crews and schedule reliability at risk.

Container shipping spot rates from China to the Mediterranean fell to the lowest level in roughly a year and a half, reflecting how surge of new capacity on the trade lane is offsetting strong demand.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha has sold six container ships for nearly $92 million as it prepares to receive 10 vessels each with a capacity of 14,000 20-foot equivalent units.

CMA CGM has launched what it claims is the first real-time container tracking mobile application for the French carrier’s customers.

Daniel J. Kerrigan, former president of Atlantic Container Lines Ltd., died at his home in South Carolina with his family on April 6. He was 90.

Evergreen Line and Simatech Shipping have reached a vessel-sharing agreement to jointly operate a new container service connecting the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, starting in early May.

U.S. containerized imports in March rocketed to the highest level in six years, reflecting increased consumer appetite and the decongesting of West Coast ports.

Part of an ongoing effort to capture more of the emerging African market, CMA CGM Wednesday announced the opening of a new corridor to inland destinations in Gabon on the West African coast.

Trans-Pacific spot rates rose this week from a 12-month low, suggesting that container lines won acceptance of at least part of an April 9 general rate increase, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

CMA CGM has signed a 30-year operating concession for the Kingston Container Terminal, which it plans to use as a strategic Caribbean transshipment hub for an enlarged Panama Canal.

The first consignment of South African apples ever shipped to China is on the water and will arrive in Shanghai on May 2 following eight years of negotiations between the two countries over access to the giant Chinese market.

Several carriers are introducing new services or deploying larger vessels on the intra-Asia trade as they target robust business in the region that is being stimulated by the emerging economies.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission on Monday is expected to present its much-anticipated findings on whether shippers face unreasonable demurrage charges tied to congestion.

Trans-Atlantic shippers in February experienced the worst service in three years, according to SeaIntel Maritime Analysis.

Hamburg Süd led the container shipping industry in on-time service in February, putting an end to Maersk Line’s six-month hold on the top spot, according to SeaIntel Maritime Analysis.

Ten of 17 large container ship lines reported operating profits last year but slumping freight rates held average margins to 2.7 percent, according to an analysis by Alphaliner.

East Coast containerized imports in February almost reached parity with West Coast imports, demonstrating the profound shift in trade that has resulted from port congestion and work slowdowns by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union at West Coast ports. The coming months will determine how much of the shift will be permanent.

Sea Star Line has added a third container-carrying barge to handle increased demand following the departure of Horizon Lines from the U.S. mainland-Puerto Rico trade.

CMA CGM has become the third member of the 20,000-TEU club with an order for three of the world’s largest container ships.

The term “One Belt One Road” has invaded reports on China trade over the past few weeks, with Beijing officials rarely missing a chance to extol the virtues of the regional initiative that brings together the Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road developments aimed at linking China with Europe and Africa, and the countries in between.

Rumors of a merger of APL and Orient Overseas Container Line were “probably not more than hot air,” and even if true would not affect container shipping overcapacity, Drewry Maritime Research says.

In a possible sign that environmental agendas may soon creep into ocean carrier contracting, 32 BCOs as a group signed a statement condemning beach ship breaking in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

A move to provide a direct shipping link between Tasmania, Australia, to Asia has been abandoned —at least in the short term.

Evergreen Line plans to upgrade its intra-Asia service network by joining the India-Far East Express Service operated by a consortium of Wan Hai Lines, Pacific International Lines, “K” Line, Shipping Corporation of India and Simatech Shipping.

Orient Overseas International Ltd.'s announcement that it will spend almost $1 billion on the purchase of six 20,000-TEU ships has put an end to speculation that the Hong Kong-listed line was interested in acquiring troubled APL from Neptune Orient Lines.

Shipping lines in the eastbound Pacific announced Wednesday a schedule of minimum rates that appear to reflect strong demand for vessel space on all-water services to the East and Gulf coasts, and congestion issues on the West Coast.

Growth in containerized imports and exports through North Europe ports is expected to flatten out this year after solid increases in 2014, according to the North Europe Global Port Tracker report.

2M Alliance partners Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. have added a fourth westbound trans-Atlantic service as part of a global revamping of their east-west routes.

A benchmark of contracted ocean freight rates has inched up, but doubts remain whether the uptick is sustainable considering beneficial cargo owners’ resistance to pay more for poor service.

Hapag-Lloyd said it detected and prevented the shipment of 2,620 misdeclared shipments of dangerous goods last year — an average of more than 50 a week.

In 20 years as head of United Arab Shipping Co.’s North American business, Anil Jay Vitarana saw growth in ship sizes and container volume. But he says one thing hasn’t changed: Carriers’ profitability remains too low to ensure needed investment and to attract bright young people.

Fesco Transportation Group’s profit soared 30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, but the weak ruble and lower rail freight rates dragged down the full-year result.

Israeli carrier Zim Integrated Shipping Services sharply narrowed its net loss to $127 million in 2014 from $343 million in 2013, with the turnaround accelerating in a strong final quarter.

The Egyptian government expects to meet its goal of completing the $4 billion widening of the Suez Canal within a year, allowing shippers to access a second channel by August.