Container lines

Matson Inc. has signed a contract with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard for two new dual-fuel container ships that can be powered by either liquid natural gas or diesel fuel.

Maersk Line has lifted its congestion surcharge of $150 per 20-foot container imposed earlier on shipments to and from the Port of Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru), India.

The chairman of Cosco Group expressed confidence on Nov. 6 that the company would achieve its financial goals for 2013, signaling the company is aiming to achieve a full-year profit and avoid delisting from the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Decreased cargo rates and lower volume year-over-year drove revenue drops at Seaboard Marine in the third quarter of 2013, according to Seaboard Corp., the parent company.

Container shortages aren’t expected to squeeze most U.S. grain and soybean exporters until early next year, but there are already signs of scarcity. Although inbound holiday goods are still delivering ample supplies of containers for Midwest exports, supplies will tighten as container carriers scale back their operations during the typically slow winter months, said Justin Cauley at agriculture marketing company Scoular.

U.K. private equity investor 3i has taken control of Scandlines, after buying out the co-owner of the ferry operator, and has refinanced its debt facilities.

CMA CGM has added a weekly call at the Port of Vitoria, Brazil, to its fixed-day, weekly BRAZEX service connecting South America’s east coast to the Caribbean.

Hanjin Shipping will receive a loan of 150 billion South Korean won (about US$141.4 million) from Korean Air, a major shareholder of Hanjin Shipping Holdings.

U.S. steel exports in August totaled 1.147 million tons, increasing 5.5 percent from 1.087 million tons in July, but declining 2.1 percent from August 2012, according to government reporting.

Seaspan reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was $48.0 million, spiking 169.7 percent year-over-year from $17.8 million.

“K” Line saw group revenue and profit improve in the six months ended September 30, despite the poor performance of its container business.

Crowley Maritime’s liner services group and Seaboard Marine have entered into a vessel-sharing agreement in the South Florida-Costa Rica-Panama trade.

China Shipping Container Lines reported a net loss of 404.4 million Chinese yuan (about US$66.3 million) in the third quarter of 2013.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. plans to expand its IPAK Service between India and Europe by adding a call at King Abdullah Port, Saudi Arabia’s new gateway hub.

Cheng Lie Navigation, part of CMA CGM, has launched a new intra-Asia service, the KVT, connecting South Korea to Thailand and Vietnam.

Evergreen Group has unveiled the 8,508-TEU Ever Linking, the second L-type vessel to be built by CSBC Corp. in Taiwan.

The service schedule that the P3 Alliance plans to launch next May indicates that Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM will boost the combined capacity of their services on the trans-Pacific by a significant amount, while the increases will be smaller on the Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean lanes.

The U.S. trade deficit in goods expanded to $58.2 billion in August, up $0.1 billion from July...

Ocean carrier Korea Marine Transport Co. is establishing its own shipping agency in India to help expand operations in the country.

Costamare’s net income jumped to $20.9 million in the third quarter from $12.5 million a year ago as the Greek charter shipowner ordered its first container vessels with its U.S. equity partner, York Capital Management.

U.S. farmers expect to harvest bumper corn and wheat crops this year, which should more than reverse the shortfall caused by last year’s drought.

The market for premium service in container shipping is fading, and that means carrier cost-cutting initiatives such as slow steaming with large, efficient vessels will trump rapid transit times...

CMA CGM has teamed up with German software firm SAP to develop what the French ocean carrier claims is the first information system dedicated to container shipping.

The Australian red meat industry sold record amounts of beef and goat meat to China in August. China imported 19 percent of Australia’s total red meat shipments, compared with 4 percent in August 2012.

Chinese consumers soon could be in line for a lot more U.S. pork in mainland grocery stores.

Global piracy has fallen to a seven-year low, but attacks off the coast of Nigeria have surged by a third, the International Maritime Bureau said.

The U.S. import trade from Asia is a microcosm of the problems carriers face on the major east-west trade lanes this year. Container volumes are slightly higher than they were in 2012, but vessel utilization factors are lower and will drop again in November.

U.S. business leaders expect export volumes to rise in the second half of 2013, as global economic conditions improve and demand for infrastructure goods rises...

Mediterranean Shipping Co. aims to increase rates in its westbound trade from India to North Europe and the Mediterranean, starting Nov. 4.

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded CMA CGM’s corporate rating to B2 from B3, citing the French ocean carrier’s return to a more stable operating and financial profile.

SHENZHEN, China — Container rates will be even more volatile over the next 12 months, as liner consolidation is unlikely and the proposed alliance between the top three carriers will only make the trio and others more competitive with pricing, said an executive consultant at Alphaliner.

Maersk Line will attempt to raise rates for shipments on its trade from the U.S. to Far East Asia, effective Nov. 15.

Lower demand growth and freight rates are forcing “rational” intra-Asia shipping lines to cooperate to optimize opportunities and avoid sinking into the red, according to one leading executive.

Rate volatility on the trans-Pacific ocean trade illustrates that existing regulations are not working as intended, according to the new the new head of UPS’s forwarding division in Asia.

Matson is cooperating with federal and state agencies looking into a molasses spill last month in Hawaii that killed more than 26,000 fish, and is providing all of the information requested by those agencies, spokesman Jeff Hull said on Oct. 14.

Seaspan canceled plans it had announced on Oct. 7 to sell additional common stock and convertible notes.