Container lines

US retailers note that two wild cards that could affect supply chain fluidity in the second half of the year remain — the outcome of West Coast longshore contract talks and the status of freight railroad negotiations.

Two of Taiwan’s largest carriers have joined Maersk, ONE, and Cosco in posting highly profitable financial results for the first half of 2022 amid a still-elevated rate environment compared to the year-ago period.

MSC’s move would appear to show some skepticism among ocean carriers active on India trades about their ability to hold firm on new rate hikes in the wake of ongoing demand pressure.

Maritime regulators are wrestling with how to refine rulemaking on when it is unreasonable for carriers to refuse export bookings, writes JOC Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

Maersk’s strategy of aggressively expanding long-term contracts is paying off, and with many of the agreements covering multi-years, the carrier is set to reap the financial rewards far beyond 2022.

A highly profitable second quarter and no sign of easing in congested container shipping markets has left Maersk on course for a significantly improved annual result.

India cargo owners are now dealing with a fresh levy linked to container weight, along with a new wave of general rate increases and surcharges that have already found their way into the market ahead of peak shipping season.

A new intra-Asia trade pact has helped boost container activity in the region, while volumes to Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa have dipped as a result.

US retailers have shifted some of their imports to the East Coast as a hedge against possible labor disruption at West Coast ports, a move that has caused vessel backlogs at major gateways along the eastern seaboard.

Indian policymakers have had a heightened focus of late on the development of marine highways along the country’s vast river network in order to encourage a larger modal shift from land to sea.

The enormous challenges of transitioning global shipping from fossil fuels to zero-carbon alternatives are coming into view, none more important than aligning private investors and governments to ensure decarbonization targets are met.

ONE has extended its highly profitable run through its fiscal first quarter, building on last year’s stellar performance to turn in another record result.

Retailers and forwarders in the eastbound trans-Pacific are facing an unusual dichotomy in which spot rates continue to deteriorate even though monthly import volumes from Asia remain at record or near-record levels.

Average rate levels secured by Hapag-Lloyd were up 80 percent through the first half, setting the carrier on course for another hugely profitable year.

Maersk is the first carrier to outline the cost to shippers of complying with Europe’s impending emissions trading rules, but other carriers want greater clarity before committing to any surcharges.

Idle containers are stacking up by the thousands in North America and Europe, but supply is plentiful at origin points in Asia, demonstrating the vast contrast in equipment fluidity at opposite ends of the supply chain.

Yilport's Robert Yildirim tells JOC Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi the container shipping industry is well-poised to keep up profits through an expected slowdown in global container volumes in the fourth quarter and into next year.

Spot rates for ocean freight from Asia to the US East Coast have fallen as order cancellations by US shippers frees up vessel space.

In a bid to maintain schedule integrity, carriers such as MSC and Hapag-Lloyd are implementing network changes on services from India to North Europe and the US East Coast.

US imports from Asia hit a record for the month of June as consumers seemingly shrugged off rising inflation and maintained recent spending habits.

South Korea’s highly profitable HMM has announced a massive investment plan that will extend the carrier’s reach deeper into the container supply chain.

OSRA-22's immediate requirement for accurate billing of detention and demurrage fees has set off a scramble among ocean carriers and marine terminal operators to update their invoicing practices and systems.

The competition regulations applied to container shipping are no longer fit for purpose and need a major revamp, according to the OECD’s International Transport Forum.

The Digital Container Shipping Association is ramping up efforts to drive electronic bill of lading adoption by working with four technology vendors and a major shipper to ensure their products are interoperable.

The degree to which US importers can negotiate lower service contract rates hinges on whether container lines can keep up spot rates, which are still three times higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

US retailers are forecasting continued strong import volumes in the second half of the year, although not quite as high as the torrid pace of 2021.

Forwarders say the intra-Asia market is likely to become more challenging in the third and fourth quarters with no significant increase in demand expected even as space and equipment availability remain tight.

The massively profitable container shipping environment was highlighted yet again in a first-half profit alert by Cosco Shipping Holdings, which would seem to put the carrier — and the industry — firmly on course for another record-breaking year.

Signs of a weakening container shipping market have yet to make their presence felt in the financial performance of OOCL, with the carrier continuing its run of stellar revenue gains through the second quarter.

While ocean carrier reliability from Asia to the US West Coast ticked higher in May, a dip for East Coast calls showed the result of delays coming amid vessel diversions.

Forwarding software provider WiseTech Global has waded into the fragmented electronic bill of lading space with the purchase of Bolero, an early provider of trade finance and electronic documentation tools.

French carrier CMA CGM has responded to a government call for price cuts to help inflation-hit consumers by announcing a 500 Euro cut in long-term rates for imports of essential household goods through French ports.

Maersk’s decision to resign from the board of the International Chamber of Shipping is a sign of the divergence among shipowner group as pressure builds to more aggressively address climate change.

A global shippers’ group believes US regulatory probes into container shipping practices through the pandemic will add pressure on the European Commission to formally review its carrier exemption from antitrust law.

French carrier CMA CGM is investing in a green gas project that aims to ramp up the production of biomethane in support of shipping decarbonization efforts and to fuel the carrier’s own vessels.

The Indian Ocean Service, a weekly connection between West India and North Europe, will operate with truncated port coverage on eight upcoming sailings between July and September.

Rate levels on the major trade lanes out of Asia should be rising as peak season begins and key destination ports remain congested, but the spot market has continued to decline.

Ocean carriers could find themselves under pressure from shippers to revisit long-term contracts as spot market rates tumble on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trade lanes.

Yang Ming and HMM are the latest container lines to be brought under the microscope of US regulators thanks to a complaint from an Illinois importer alleging the carriers breached annual service contracts last year.

The short-term cost of cutting maritime emissions in the Pacific Ocean will be relatively small compared with the market variability of rate levels, according to UNCTAD.