Container lines

Cheaper ship charter rates and growth in cargo volumes are bringing gains to the bottom lines of ocean carriers operating in services between Asian countries, Drewry says.

A small business based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, took home one of the state’s most coveted business awards with an aggressive export strategy.

Container ships with capacities of 10,000 TEUs or greater are more likely to be delayed at European ports than smaller vessels.

A Greek ship manager said it is working with Lloyd’s Register and Daewoo Shipbuilding to develop LNG-fueled ultra-large container ships of 14,000 TEUs.

Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and India are poised to kick their export growth into higher gear over the next five years.

Container shipping veteran Richard “Dick” Craig was promoted to CEO of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. America on June 9.

Eleven sailors from the Malaysia-flag container ship Albedo held hostage for more than three years by Somali pirates have arrived safely in Kenya, according to mediators who helped secure their freedom, Al Jazeera reported.

Despite recent improvements, global container lines’ schedule reliability and on-time container delivery have been worse every month so far this year versus last year.

Asia’s export growth will bounce off the lows of 2012-13 and still be the envy of the world over the next five years.

Pet products are a serious and fast growing business in China.

Customs brokers and forwarders are asking the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to create procedures to help them better handle potential work stoppages at U.S. West Coast ports.

Maersk Group says it completed a $5.1 billion syndicated revolving credit facility to replace loans maturing in 2015, reducing its financial costs.

Maersk Line said it intends to raise rates on shipments between the Mediterranean and North America, beginning July 1.

Maersk Line is denying claims that its profits are inflated because it gets a discount from its Maersk Group sister company APM Terminals, a major global terminal operator.

The CKYH partners and Evergreen Line are making moves to allow them to seek a vessel-sharing alliance in the trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic trade lanes.

Greek shipowners are faced with a decision: increase investments in more efficient container ships to stay competitive, or return to their roots in bulk shipping.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is clarifying rules pertaining to congestion surcharges planned by trans-Pacific carriers in the event of U.S. West Coast work stoppages.

Shipping Corp. of India reported a marginal net profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013-14, which ended March 31, 2014.

The start of the World Cup in Brazil next month could give U.S. beer imports a much-needed kick in growth this year.

As a niche carrier with a growing refrigerated forwarding business and aggressive plans to expand, Eimskip is poised to ride the waves fueled by larger vessels and booming inter-Asia trade. Much of this promise centers on the container shipping and refrigerated logistics group’s ability to handle a wider variety of reefer goods throughout the supply chain.

In announcing sharply lower losses for the first three months of the year, CSAV said it expects to close on a merger agreement with Hapag-Lloyd in the fourth quarter.

Japan’s trade surplus with the United States narrowed for the third month in a row in April on a year-on-year basis, as imports grew at a faster pace than exports, according to preliminary figures released by the Finance Ministry last week.

The following excerpt from Culture shock in Maersk Line, the new book by maritime industry analyst Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner at SeaIntel Consulting, discusses the situation today at the world’s No. 1 container carrier.

The world’s overcapacity in ocean container shipping is tied to growth in post-Panamax ships, according to Danish Ship Finance’s latest Shipping Market Review report.

Zim’s first quarter loss shrank 45 percent from a year earlier as the Israeli ocean carrier continued to cut costs in the run-up to a $3 billion financial restructuring.

CMA CGM booked a 1.2 percent increase in first quarter net profit as increased container traffic on key east/west routes helped to offset softer freight rates.

In the face of looming competition from new or expanded ocean shipping alliances among the biggest carriers, smaller lines are taking steps to ensure their own long-term survival.

The dramatic surge in the number of container ships scrapped in recent months is set to continue but will have minimal impact on the oversupply of vessels in the key East-West trades, according to Drewry Maritime Intelligence.

Maersk Line more than doubled its first quarter net operating profit to $454 million from $204 million a year earlier, as higher container volumes and lower unit costs offset softer freight rates.

Zim is launching a new U.S. Gulf-Brazil direct service in cooperation with Mediterranean Shipping Co. as part of a streamlined inter-Americas operation.

Zim Integrated Shipping today announced it has finalized terms of a $3 billion financial restructuring that will enable the Israeli ocean carrier to raise funds to buy new ships and enter joint ventures and strategic partnerships with other container shipping lines.

Intra-Asia specialist Wan Hai Lines posted a modest $21.8 million profit in the first quarter as the carrier leveraged its network to remain the leading light among Taiwan’s top three shipping companies.

An aggressive focus on operating efficiency is reflected in the first quarter results of Neptune Orient Lines, Hanjin and Hapag-Lloyd, although the savings were not enough to offset the effects of excess capacity, high bunker prices and weak freight rates that continue to plague the industry.

Eimskip, the Icelandic container shipping and refrigerated logistics group, doesn’t expect import volume to increase much this year, but it is planning on export traffic to expand, largely because of demand for fish shipments.

Zim is teaming up with Hapag-Lloyd on the U.S.-Mediterranean route to increase port coverage and reduce transit times, in the Israeli ocean carrier’s second agreement with a member of the G6 Alliance in the past week.

WASHINGTON — A key report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration this fall will go a long way toward determining how committed politicians and business leaders are to taking the North American Free Trade Agreement to the next level.

Meat and produce exporters looking to bypass California’s 22-metric-ton weight limit on over-the-road shipments soon may be able to ship overweight containers to the Port of Oakland by barge.