Container lines

Slowing global trade and tough Chinese measures to combat COVID-19 infections dragged down volume last year at Hutchison Ports subsidiary HPH Trust.

Ocean carriers cannot limit the use of chassis by motor carriers in merchant haulage, the FMC’s chief administrative judge said in an “initial” summary decision meant to resolve a long-running dispute. 

Carriers on the trans-Atlantic find themselves in the curious position of adding capacity to the trade while at the same time having to blank sailings to maintain the supply-demand balance.

With the extended port reach into India, carriers are looking to fill leftover capacity from Southeast Asia as primary market volumes slow and US sourcing within Asia diversifies beyond China, sources say.

The announced dissolution of the 2M Alliance raises the question of what additional large-scale dominoes might be toppling over in the next few years in the container shipping sector, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

US importers that renegotiated contract rates or shifted to the spot market in the second half of 2022 have also had to adjust to different accessorial charges and transmission formats.

The expansion of origin-to-destination ocean connectivity with predictable transit time improvements is a boon for Indian exporters trying to find untapped markets for their products amid slowing demand.

The breakup of the 2M Alliance opens the door to a few possibilities, including the industry reverting to a competitive scramble for market share, driving down profits and forcing yet another round of M&A activity, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The return of US ports to normal cargo flow is demonstrated starkly in the year-over-year comparisons of vessel schedule reliability in the Asia-US trade.

Data shows US importers are walking the walk when it comes to sourcing diversification, slowly moving trade flows away from China and toward Vietnam, India, and South Korea, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

Carriers have entered 2023 with too much supply and not enough demand on the Asia-Europe trade, with rates continuing their downward spiral through January.

The first 2022 financial results from ocean container carriers are filtering in, revealing the impact of collapsing rates and demand on profitability levels.

Maersk’s move to integrate brands comes days after the carrier and Mediterranean Shipping Co. announced plans to end their 2M alliance and the recent appointment of a new A P Moller - Maersk executive board that starts work on Feb. 1.

After a 2022 in which skipped calls dragged down volumes at the Port of New Orleans while neighboring Gulf Coast gateways saw booming import growth, officials are hoping a return to steady vessel schedules will help entice shippers back to the port.

The director of the Port of New York and New Jersey has laid out priorities for 2023 that she says will ensure its future growth and ability to maintain market share.

The move raises questions whether the carriers will seek new alliance partners, potentially setting off another round of musical chairs involving the other two networks, THE Alliance and the Ocean Alliance.

Hapag-Lloyd’s focus on port-to-port shipping includes pursuing ownership stakes in marine terminal operations, with the acquisition of a 40 percent share of Indian ports operator J M Baxi the latest example.

Rates on trades out of India continue to soften in January, most notably to the US, and at least one carrier is seeking general rate increases in a bid to prop up prices.

With an increased focus by importers on geopolitics and “friend-shoring,” carriers are shifting an increasing volume of deep-sea vessel capacity away to Vietnam — and away from China.

Dirtier products are the unintentional winners in global trade where cleaner finished goods pay higher tariffs, resulting in an effective “subsidy” of polluting commodities, according to the World Trade Organization.

Even as weak economic conditions prevail during the annual service contract negotiating cycle, it does not automatically mean shippers will be driving the hardest possible bargains with newly vulnerable carriers.

The AWES service itinerary is yet another example of liners’ increasing network consolidation at Mundra for the Indian leg, a single-port call strategy that, arguably, helps them save on marine dues.

The digital sharing of schedule information via Rotterdam’s Nextlogic platform addresses the complexity involved in terminals booking and handling 18,000 container barges a year.

Pressure on shippers to take a more active role in bringing down so-called Scope 3 emissions covering the activities of a company’s third-party vendors — including transportation — has increased in recent years.

While a 50 percent capacity cut is about typical in the eastbound trans-Pacific during the post-Lunar New Year lull, more blank sailings could be in the offing given the accelerating decline in US import demand.

Demand for ocean visibility surged through the pandemic, including among software providers needing real-time container milestone data, an area that software vendor Terminal49 has targeted in recent years.

Whether OSRA-22 — and increased FMC scrutiny — will produce tangible changes in how carriers and terminals calculate and convey detention and demurrage charges is still yet to be seen, as inaccurate invoices continue to plague shippers.

The pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions in China have left importers searching for more resilience and flexibility in their existing supply chains rather than racing for the exits.

Carriers on the Asia-Europe trade have stepped up capacity management measures as demand weakens through the traditionally busy Lunar New Year period and beyond.

Import weakness kept volume flat at the merged French ports of Le Havre, Rouen, and Paris, but an improved river and rail network resulted in a large rise in hinterland traffic.

Shippers are generally willing to share in the cost of reducing carbon emissions, but they worry a lack of transparency in pass-through charges could allow shipping lines to continue burning fossil fuels.

Decarbonizing its entire business by 2040 requires collaboration across Maersk’s global supply chain, pushing the carrier to sign partnerships in strategic areas to achieve its net-zero ambitions.

The growth at the Port of New York and New Jersey was accompanied by persistent container and vessel backlogs and truck congestion, but volumes are expected to taper off in 2023.

The IEX service’s nine-vessel routing has experienced serious reliability challenges since early last year amid the pandemic-linked port flow turmoil.

Despite the fourth-quarter crash in revenues, all three Taiwan-based carriers still booked record revenues for the full year, suggesting they will report bumper profits for 2022.

Zim has joined a growing group of companies that see potential in giving small importers and exporters access to digital finance tools through an investment in an Israel-based startup.

The West Coast’s share of US imports from Asia will continue to deteriorate in the first quarter and beyond until terminal operators and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union agree on a new contract, sources say.

The Port of Jacksonville said it has the estimated funding in place from the city and state of Florida to increase the air draft on its main ship channel to accommodate larger post-Panamax vessels.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act’s export provisions need further clarification to explain instances when US ag exports don’t get on a ship, the US Department of Agriculture said.

The disruption to trade lanes caused by the pandemic is over, but slowing demand has left carriers struggling to manage the existing capacity flooding back into service as congestion eases and new ships are delivered.