Container lines

US importers are taking bolder action to guarantee capacity in ways that would have been unimaginable in years past, from chartering ships, embracing transloading, and paying more to secure contracted ocean capacity

The trans-Atlantic trade lane heads into its busy fourth quarter facing the same capacity-cutting port congestion issues as the larger trades out of Asia, leaving little room for rates to drop from record highs.

Pinched at both Asian load ports and US receiving ports, trans-Pacific carriers in August registered their fourth consecutive month of deteriorating on-time performance.

The latest move to tap into India’s export growth comes via a vessel-sharing deal between four regional carriers predominantly operating on intra-Asia trades.

With a declared transit time of 21 days from India’s JNPT to Norfolk, the new string boasts the fastest connection on the booming trade route, with the first westbound sailing scheduled for Oct. 25.

After a year of pandemic-induced delays, demand for refrigerated containers equipped with active controlled-atmosphere (CA) technology, typically reserved for high-value produce, has increased among a wider range of shippers.

Maersk issued its third upgrade of full-year 2021 results thanks to the continued strength of its ocean business and high freight rates.

A consortium of container industry heavyweights has enlisted three banks in Asia to advise it on development of trade finance solutions to tether shipping data to new financing opportunities.

Maersk is acquiring a Portuguese company that specializes in outsourced e-commerce fulfillment services to the fashion industry as the ocean carrier moves deeper into integrated logistics services.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is repositioning vessels from the trans-Atlantic to the trans-Pacific in a bid to meet the market’s high demand for Asia services.

Reduced harvesting in Asia has created additional demand for agricultural goods from the US and Australia, but a shortage of intra-Asia feeder ships is preventing exporters from taking full advantage.

As part of the National Shipper Advisory Committee, the likes of Wal-Mart, Amazon, and DuPont will give guidance to the Federal Maritime Commission as the federal agency steps up its monitoring of the industry.

Although monthly year-over-year import growth will be minimal during the peak season, import volumes will still be at near-record levels as they are benchmarked off of unusually large volumes in the second half of 2020.

CMA CGM said its decision to suspend all spot rate increases until early 2022 is a matter of prioritizing long-term relationships with customers.

More funding has flowed into container visibility solutions to address a growing need for shippers and their logistics providers to predict where and when disruptions are likely to occur.

The addition of Halifax reflects MSC’s bullish assessment of India’s export outlook, with elevated sourcing from North American markets being a major contributing factor to a stronger-than-expected volume rebound.

A trade group representing the chemical distribution industry is the latest to accuse ocean carriers of discriminatory business practices in their decisions about which bookings to take.

Disruption to Asia-North Europe supply chains is growing as the trade moves into its peak shipping period facing soaring rates and falling service levels.

The responses of two major carriers to an importer’s complaint to the US Federal Maritime Commission underscores the difficulty in using a regulatory avenue to settle contract disputes.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. sat on top of the rankings for ocean carriers handling US imports while its 2M partner Maersk was top carrier on the export side.

New data on the explosion of capacity being deployed in the Asia-US trade indicates there will likely be sufficient capacity to handle projected import volumes for the rest of the year, but the effective capacity will be reduced by port congestion in the US and Asia.

Carriers expect another increase in profit in the second half of the year as a lack of available vessel capacity and port and landside congestion, particularly in North America and Asia, continues to push rates up.

Schedule reliability continued to suffer in July in the eastbound trans-Pacific as carriers were challenged by port congestion issues and extra-loaders and new services that complicated cargo-handling operations at marine terminals.

Rate increases on the Trans-Pacific vary because of what benchmarking platform Xeneta described as a “whole series of different markets” for different shippers.

The full opening of Ningbo’s Meidong marine terminal is reassuring the shipping industry that the disruption will have a smaller impact than the closing of Yantian International Container Terminals in late June.

Maersk’s order of up to twelve 16,000-TEU methanol-powered ships raises the question of how other container lines will follow, as some carriers are betting on LNG to meet tightening emission restrictions and others are waiting to see how best to shift away from traditional bunker fuel.

The seeking of legal resolutions to conflicts between shippers and container line shippers and carriers over service contracts brings a new set of challenges to both sides, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

Disruption across major ocean trade lanes has tightened capacity at a time of soaring demand, pushing container rates to historically high levels and generating extreme profits for carriers.

The US Department of Transportation outlines projects along the US West and East coasts, Midwest, and Pacific Islands that aim to promote coastal transportation of freight.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services said it expects governmental pressures on container lines to slow steam ships will blunt significant new capacity additions slated to hit the water 2023.

DB Schenker’s Thorsten Meincke says container lines are doing their “best possible to get the supply chain running,” although he warns US landside challenges will continue to challenge efforts.

Although US imports from Asia have returned to single-digit growth after 11 consecutive months of double-digit increases, the cargo base is so large that even incremental growth this peak season will result in record import volumes.

Maersk’s acquisition of Visible Supply Chain Management last week adds nine fulfillment centers to its distribution network, allowing it to reach 95 percent of the US direct-to-consumer market within 48 hours.

Maersk has shifted its call at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) on the India/Middle East–Mediterranean ME2 service to the PSA-operated BMCT after increasing vessel capacity on the loop to an average of 10,000 TEU.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is adding a new string connecting India with the US and revising its two existing loops to capitalize on growing demand in the capacity-constrained trade.

The Tuesday introduction of a bill that would significantly change US shipping law for the first time in two decades drew sharp fire from container lines, who argue the legislation is infused with “unfairness” that risks making imports and exports more expensive.

The head of India’s container shipping lines group says carriers have pulled out all the stops to improve equipment flow and vessel capacity, noting that supply challenges have been compounded by congestion across international hub ports.

OOCL has launched a first-of-its-kind, multi-modal service that will use the Asian land bridge and rail to transship to US East Coast ports.

Maersk’s acquisition of a US parcel logistics provider and its plan to acquire a European-based provider provide the missing links in the container’s line strategy to offer shippers end-to-end solutions from Asian factory floor to final delivery.

A US importer’s complaint to US regulators of not getting trans-Pacific service contracts honored underscores how cargo demand and diminished efficiency leading to tighter capacity across all modes including ports is creating conflicts with carriers over agreed contracted volume allocations.