Container lines

U.S. red meat exports were “solid” in November as beef sales set a new value record and pork exports posted their strongest month year-to-date...

If trans-Pacific container lines put their outlook to music, they might want to borrow from Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same.” This year, after all, is shaping up very much like 2013, when modest growth in demand combined with faster growth in capacity to hammer rates and force carriers to chase regular — and short-lived — rate increases from spring through fall.

China’s export competitiveness may be stagnating or eroding in key low-end commodities such as footwear, toys and furniture, but in consumer appliances and electronics, which require more technology in manufacturing, China is increasing its market share, according to a Jan. 7 report by Barclays out of Hong Kong.

The major risks to Asian economic and trade growth this year lie in Europe and the U.S., according to one leading Asia based analyst.

Hanjin Shipping is pulling out of several money-losing trades to cut its ongoing losses.

Hapag-Lloyd is closing in on a deal to take over CSAV, which would create the world’s fourth largest ocean carrier, according to a German language newspaper.

The Asia-Europe container market hogged the headlines in 2013 and looks set to dominate the industry’s agenda through 2014 as a flood of mega-ships hits the water amid sluggish cargo growth that saw two consecutive flat peak seasons and economic challenges at both ends of the world’s biggest trade lane.

APL will move from its current geographically organized structure to a functional one, according to the Singapore-based container line.

Shipping lines could find the intra-Asia trades an unhappy hunting ground in 2014 after a similarly tough 2013. But the long-term outlook remains positive.

“K” Line has plans to shift its focus from “protective” policies to an “offensive” approach, according to the head of the Japanese shipping company.

Maersk Line is reviving the SeaLand name it acquired in 1999 to rebrand the regional intra-Americas services in a new container-shipping company it plans to launch early next year.

California’s ports on Jan. 1 became the first in the world to require that container lines operate their vessels from shore-side electrical power while at berth, and this potentially industry-changing event is proceeding without any major problems.

Japanese containerized cargo exports will rise for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2014, which starts on April 1, amid a moderate recovery in the global economy, a Tokyo-based research firm predicted in a new report.

Container lines are looking at the possibility that the gap between supply and demand globally will widen in 2014, likely exacerbating rate volatility and challenging carriers to be profitable.

The MSC Monterey is expected to sail to Boston on Jan. 3, following temporary repairs to a crack in its main deck that forced the Liberian-registered container ship to abort its voyage...

Seaspan has entered into an agreement to extend and refinance its $1.0 billion credit facility.

The MSC Monterey aborted a voyage from Antwerp to Boston after its crew discovered a crack in main deck of the Liberian-registered container ship as it sailed past the Newfoundland coast on Friday.

India’s engineering exports to the U.S. tumbled nearly 10 percent year-over-year in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (2013-14), according to the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India.

Hapag-Lloyd’s chairman is urging the German carrier’s domestic rival Hamburg Süd to join its merger talks with CSAV, the Chilean container line.

The fleet of idled surplus container ships hit 718,000 20-foot-equivalent units in mid-December, and lay-ups will persist for the next two years, as record deliveries of new vessels will continue to keep supply and demand out of sync, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.

Hyundai Group is planning to sell off assets to generate cash to help out Hyundai Merchant Marine.

Hanjin Shipping is planning to invite Evergreen Line to join the CKYH Alliance to improve that network’s competitive posture, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports.

Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV have much to gain by joining forces, but the German and Chilean ocean carriers will face difficulties striking a financial deal, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

United Arab Shipping Co. has closed a $1.251 billion loan for the partial financing of seven 14,000-TEU container ships and five 18,000-TEU container ships...

Believing the trans-Pacific eastbound market is in their favor headed into 2014 contract negotiations, shippers are sending requests for proposals from carriers seeking low rate levels and other concessions.

Maersk Line said it still remains confident of securing approval for the P3 alliance and meeting the summer launch target following this week’s meeting of...

Crowley Maritime expects to see 20 percent growth in its Puerto Rican transshipment volume, coming from the recent reclassification of its...

Analysts expect no pickup in the performance of container shipping line Yang Ming for at least another year due its high unit costs, small ships and over-exposure to major East-West trades.

A record 450,000 TEUs of capacity is set to be deleted from the world container ship fleet in 2013 and the average age of ships scrapped has fallen to an all-time low of 22 years, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.

After rising in the double digits year-over-year for four consecutive months, India’s merchandise exports expanded by a modest 5.86 percent in November, but a steep decline in imports helped significantly narrow the country’s overall trade imbalance with the rest of the world.

When shippers look ahead to 2014, they see a repeat performance of this year, but with even more volatility. The capacity that will come with the multitude of big container ships due for delivery next year will outstrip any increases in global demand for vessel space, so carriers won’t be able to sustain the freight rate increases they will seek.

Sea Star Line President Peter Keller will become executive vice president of the ocean carrier’s parent company, TOTE, Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2014.

CMA CGM plans to cut the number of services it operate through its subsidiary Delmas between Europe and the Mediterranean and West Africa to five from 10 as of the middle of December.

They’re not all increasing their U.S. trade volumes, but the carriers making up the proposed P3 Network are boosting their combined traffic, an indication of the big ships they’re cascading to the major U.S. east-west trades.

Cascading of large container ships from the Asia-Europe market into North-South trades is significantly eroding pricing in those markets, according to Drewry.

An 11 percent decline in revenue contributed to a large decline in profits at Evergreen Marine for the third quarter.

Germany’s top eight ship financiers face up to €16 billion euros ($22 billion) in credit losses in 2014 as an increasing number of shipping companies face difficulties in repaying their loans, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

NEWARK, N.J. — Costs at North American ports will continue to rise unless berth, yard and gate productivity increases enough to handle all the big container ships coming their way. And container lines likewise will see their port costs rise, even if current productivity levels stay the same.

The odds are against a merger between Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV largely due to lack of a strategic consensus among shareholders, according to container industry analyst Alphaliner.