Container lines

A return to single-digit year-over-year growth in imports in the first half of the year will still not provide the relief necessary for US ports to clear their cargo and vessel backlogs, according to retailers.

The falling level of connectivity from Japan and South Korea to North America has led shippers to use short-sea services to China, where cargo is transshipped to mainline trans-Pacific services.

The Israeli carrier will expand the port rotation of its newly launched ZIM-Med-ISC service between India and the Mediterranean to connect to North Europe trades from next month. 

The Senate’s Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 calls for container lines and terminal operators to validate container storage fees while strengthening their common carriage responsibilities.

After a year of growing disruption, shippers are seeking a more predictable service on the trans-Atlantic, which can be seen in far higher contract rates than just a few months ago.

For southern India cargo interests traditionally tied to foreign transshipment, the weekly IEX service had been a hopeful bet on service reliability and transit time expectations.

The impact of investigations by the Federal Maritime Commission into container shipping — driven by new leadership and pressure from the White House — pales in comparison to fast-moving reform legislation making its way through Congress.

Several network changes unveiled by carriers include the 2M Alliance and Zim ending a slot swap agreement on two Asia-Mediterranean services and two Asia services into Vancouver and Seattle on April 1.

Container lines have begun to lay out a new wave of hefty peak season surcharges on India-US trades as export demand remains elevated.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are considering an innovative but complex plan to reduce the number of empty containers that are contributing to terminal congestion by incentivizing shipping lines to increase the volume of containers they pick up during each call.

Inflation, higher interest rates, and a gradual shift back to a more “normal” balance in consumer spending between goods and services will reduce import volumes in the second half of 2022, in turn relieving pressure on ports and inland supply chains.

Container line members of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) are not adopting the very standards they have set out to develop, speakers said during a JOC webcast last week.

With Suez Canal transit tolls rising next month, Indian shippers — already dealing with elevated freight rates — are now seeing new canal-related surcharges on services to North Africa.

Matson’s fourth-quarter results surge amid growing demand for expedited ocean freight services from China to the US West Coast.

Despite an expected return to single-digit monthly increases in imports from Asia this year, already-stressed US ports are still likely to struggle to handle cargo volumes.

Price is taking a back seat to reliability and predictability in this year’s service contract negotiations as shippers push carriers for larger space commitments while carriers are favoring customers with a proven ability to deliver committed volumes on a consistent basis.

While carriers are permitted to collaborate on freight rates under South Korea’s maritime shipping act, it must be done in discussion with shippers and details reported to the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry within 30 days.

Members of the Ocean Alliance outline plans to add new Asia services to the US West and East coasts as part of a series of 2022 network changes.

Frustration over sailing disruptions continues in the new year for Indian exporters, with MSC skipping calls at Mundra and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on its INDUSA service this week.

Maersk is going beyond its previous efforts to cut emissions, accelerating its decarbonization timeline and extending net-zero targets across its land, sea, and air business.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has edged out Maersk as the world’s largest containership company by capacity, according to Alphaliner, amid fleet growth and higher trans-Pacific volumes.

The trans-Atlantic trade will report significant volume growth in 2021 as heavy US demand fills all available capacity and pushes rates to record levels.

Wan Hai has come under scrutiny from the US Federal Maritime Commission for assessing detention charges on containers that shippers assert could not be returned to a container terminal.

Global vessel schedule reliability remained at a six-year low in November amid the ongoing chaotic market for trans-Pacific shipping.

A sea change in ocean freight rate volatility has precipitated new efforts to drive usage of derivatives, with index providers suggesting there is previously unseen appetite from shippers and forwarders for hedging tools.

Forwarders are raising red flags as a more integrated Maersk becomes better equipped to establish direct relationships with shippers.

Maersk will significantly expand its Asia Pacific contract logistics and e-commerce footprint in Asia Pacific with its latest multi-billion-dollar acquisition.

Futures contracts based on container rates across several major trade lanes will start trading at the end of February on one of the world’s largest financial exchanges.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has made an offer for the largest port and logistics provider on the African continent as it looks to expand on a growing market.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is temporarily omitting New York-New Jersey from a Suez service to the US East Coast and instead making Savannah the first port of call, citing vessel congestion along the coast.

Wan Hai Lines is looking to clear out a backlog of its vessels at anchor or drifting off the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach after securing a new terminal deal with SSA Marine.

HMM India officials said the carrier plans to use a fleet of eight to 12 vessels with an average capacity of 5,000 TEU on its new service linking the Indian port of Kattupalli with the Far East and Latin America.

There was a lack of substantial debate in the House before passing major ocean shipping reform legislation even after the ranking member of the maritime subcommittee warned that while he supported the bill, he had reservations.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is changing a trans-Pacific service calling on Portland to the East Coast, but the carrier is keeping a stake at the Oregon port via a new shuttle service

One of the first cases brought under the Federal Maritime Commission’s interpretative rule on detention and demurrage has been settled, but the larger issue remains an open question since the deal means there was no ruling by FMC.

Shippers will be forced to dig deeper when South China barge operators limit services later this month to allow sea-going crews extra time to comply with China’s strict COVID-19 quarantine rules ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which if passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden would herald the first rewriting of US shipping law since 1998.

Retailers project continued strong imports into 2022, with no traditional post-holiday slack period, as sales remain strong and ports work overtime to reduce vessel backlogs.

DP World’s new feeder service is further proof that demand for short-sea or coastal shipping activity in India has grown significantly after restrictive cabotage rules applied to foreign-owned vessels in that segment were abolished three years ago.

A growing number of blank sailings comes as carriers are also skipping ports in both Asia and the United States in an effort to recover sailing schedules.