Container lines

Spot rates on major trade lanes worldwide increased this week, with peak shipping season to Europe and North America in full swing.

European regulators are reportedly set to approve the announced merger of Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV, creating the world's fourth largest container line

A long-term shift from air to ocean freight by shippers looking to cut transport costs and willing to tolerate longer transit times may be slowing, according to recent comments from transportation executives.

Container volumes from Asia to its key export destinations were up in July, anchored by growth to both Europe and North America.

Spot rates on nearly all lanes on the World Container Index moved this week as rates continue to fluctuate.

Weak charter rates cut into second-quarter profit of container ship owner-charterer Box Ships, which said vessel supply continues to exceed demand in a “challenging” market.

Saltchuk Resources, owner of U.S. domestic carriers Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Sea Star Line, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Tropical Shipping, an international-flag carrier serving the Bahamas and Caribbean.

The once buoyant Baltic shipping market faces further declines in cargo volumes as the European Union prepares to tighten economic sanctions against Russia.

European carriers and shippers are struggling to embrace the 45-foot container mostly because of pricing and space issues, a new report says.

After weeks of stagnation, Drewry’s benchmark spot rate from Hong Kong to Los Angeles jumped this week on the back of Sept. 1 trans-Pacific general rate increases.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. imposed a congestion surcharge on all cargo from Europe for the Port of Sohar, Oman, effective Sept. 1.

Ocean carriers’ operating margins in the first half of the year veered widely from top-ranked Maersk Line’s positive 7.3 percent to a negative 7.8 percent at Chile’s CSAV, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.

Congestion at ports across Asia is creating havoc with shipping schedules, forcing a major intra-Asia specialist to cancel rotations as it battles lengthy delays.

European short-sea shipping volumes could fall as much as 10 percent in the next several years as new emission regulations take effect.

A group of Thai shippers said it expects exports to grow no more than 1 percent this year, in another worrying sign that Thailand’s economy is struggling in the wake of a military coup in May, Reuters reported.

When he goes to Shanghai in November, U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner William Doyle wants to find out how Chinese regulators will handle the “2M” vessel-sharing agreement, as statements that the pact doesn’t require regulatory approval from Beijing are coming from others, not regulators themselves.

Ocean freight rates for shipments under contract on major east-west routes decreased 6 percent from March through July, allowing shippers to reduce their costs, according to results from Drewry’s Benchmarking Club.

Although delays are starting to ease at the Port of Rotterdam, schedule reliability to the Dutch port plummeted this summer.

If the Panama Canal hopes to retain container carrier services from South China and Southeast Asia to the U.S. East Coast and regain those it has lost to the Suez Canal over the last few years, it will have to develop a new pricing structure or lower its tolls after it opens its new locks to commercial traffic in 2016, according to a new report from SeaIntel Maritime Analysis.

Hapag-Lloyd will begin charging an Ebola inspection fee on all shipments to and from West Africa from Sept. 21 as mandatory health checks on ships are expected to cause lengthy delays.

Fesco Transportation Group’s revenue and earnings declined in the first half as a weaker rouble and lower ocean freight rates offset higher container volumes.

Small Malaysian container line and regional feeder operator PDZ released its full-year results, and once again the destructive impact of weak freight rates was evident in a carrier’s financials despite the line posting a pre-tax profit.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services entered the final stages of a debt restructuring programme after posting a mixed set of first-quarter results where the carrier managed to reduce the size of its loss despite falling revenue.

Cosco Container Lines (Cosco) is placing an order for five 14,000-TEU vessels as it continues with an aggressive tonnage scrapping programme to revitalise both its fleet and its flagging profits.

Chilean container line CSAV cut back its losses in the second quarter, losing $58.5 million ahead of its merger with German carrier Hapag-Lloyd.

Rickmers Group said “strained” markets, currency exchange and weak charter rates contributed to revenue and profit declines in the first half of 2014, and that conditions will remain difficult through the rest of the year.

NYK Line in May took delivery of the first post-Panamax car carrier built in Japan. Dubbed the Aries Leader, the new pure car carrier not only boasts a capacity of 7,000 vehicle units, but also a wide range of energy-saving technologies not found on other such vessels.

While some September 1 general rate increases seem to be successful, others have not taken hold, and spot rates in those lanes may drop to new lows.

Growing global demand for bourbon, a solely U.S. produced liquor, is giving U.S. East Coast ports a sweet, down-home surge in containerized cargo.

CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest carrier in deployed capacity, increased revenue and cut operating expenses in the April through June period according to quarterly figures released today.

Global schedule reliability has declined for the first time in six months, as carriers continue to deal with congestion in North Europe and the U.S. West Coast, according to a new report from SeaIntel Maritime Analysis.

The air cargo industry has been battling declining market share for years as cost-sensitive shippers move long-haul cargo from air to ocean transport, but that trend may be coming to an end, PIL Managing Director Teo Siong Seng says.

Robert Sappio, former longtime executive at APL, has been named chief operating officer at SeaCube Container Leasing.

Emirates Shipping Line is the latest container line to impose surcharges on India-bound cargoes in response to the months-long intermodal delays that have led to serious equipment imbalance issues at India’s premier container gateways.

China Shipping Container Lines drifted into positive territory in the first half as a gain from one-time asset sales offset high costs and stubbornly weak freight rates that are troubling the liner industry.

China Cosco Holdings saw its first-half losses soar to $338 million as a difficult shipping environment and the disposal of vessels dragged its year-over-year net profit down by 130 percent, despite solid growth in container volumes.

Jeffrey Boston has succeeded Chris Dombalis as chief executive officer at U.S. mainland-Puerto Rico carrier Trailer Bridge.

Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. could eventually operate ships of up to 19,200-TEUs on east-west trades that touch the U.S., within their planned “2M” vessel-sharing agreement, according to a filing with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission.

An investment consortia including the U.S. private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has acquired a portfolio of nine feeder container ships previously owned by German KG funds.