Container lines

Federal maritime regulators have ordered eight container lines to provide details showing how port congestion surcharges meet legal and regulatory requirements, the latest escalation in increased US oversight of container shipping.

Maersk upgraded revenue and profit expectations for the full-year 2021 as it sees a better-than-expected demand for trans-Pacific shipping.

A formal complaint from a US home goods importer to maritime regulators is the first of its kind since the COVID-19 pandemic began and speaks to a growing sentiment among shippers and some forwarders that container lines have unfairly taken advantage of the resulting disruption.

Matson said the trans-Pacific continues to see high demand coupled with congestion at load ports, adding that all its premium services look to be nearly full through the first quarter of 2022.

The average price to ship an FEU from Shanghai to Los Angeles hit an all-time record, according to the Drewry World Container Index, and container lines will begin levying another round of surcharges starting as early as Aug. 1.

The average price to ship an FEU from Shanghai to Los Angeles hit an all-time record, according to the Drewry World Container Index , and container lines will begin levying another round of surcharges starting as early as Aug. 1.

FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye on Wednesday made recommendations on how Congress and the agency itself can beef up its enforcement of unlawful detention and demurrage.

The reopening of the US and European economies after last year’s COVID-19 lockdowns spurred a resurgence in the trans-Atlantic container trade as business activity in two of the world’s largest economies showed better than expected growth in May.

The reopening of the US and European economies after last year’s COVID-19 lockdowns spurred a resurgence in the trans-Atlantic container trade as business activity in two of the world’s largest economies showed better than expected growth in May, with increases concentrated at US ports that have undergone major expansions.

Expectations are that reliability is likely to fall further in the coming months as carriers add new services and deploy extra-loader vessels to meet peak season demand that arrives amid the never-ending onslaught of imports from Asia.

North American companies are signaling that they will need to build up larger inventory buffers to meet strong US consumer demand, something that will keep up pressure on ocean freight.

Forwarders say US importers of lower-value cargo from Asia and those with low margins are increasingly priced out of the trans-Pacific market as peak season volumes further tax the shipping system.

US retail inventories as a percent of sales sits at an all-time low, but many importers and shippers are getting priced out of restocking because of high ocean freight rates.

US retail inventories as a percent of sales sits at an all-time low, but many importers and shippers are getting priced out of restocking because of high ocean freight rates.

Forwarders say US importers of lower-value cargo from Asia and those with low margins are increasingly priced out of the trans-Pacific market as peak season volumes further tax the shipping system.

A liner-led consortium aimed at using blockchain to digitize key container shipping processes has launched a cargo release product in China.

A liner-led consortium aimed at using blockchain to digitize key container shipping processes has launched a cargo release product in China.

The carrier-led standards consortium DCSA on Wednesday established definitions for five key port call phases to improve messaging between carriers and terminals.

US maritime regulators have told the top container lines operating in the US to open up their books for an audit of how they assess storage charges amid increased pressure from Congress and the White House to crack down on unreasonable detention and demurrage fees.

US maritime regulators have told the top container lines operating in the United States to open up their books for an audit of how they assess storage charges amid increased pressure from Congress and the White House to crack down on unreasonable detention and demurrage fees.

A bill expected to be introduced in Congress in August would drive a sweeping bipartisan overhaul of US shipping law if passed.

The MSC-Shell deal shows that commercially viable solutions for zero-emission fuels are a long way from being available at scale.

The container shipping industry orderbook has continued to grow this year as carriers shake off the restraints that kept the order-to-fleet ratio at a record low for the past two years.

While there are many elements involved in the US’s renewed scrutiny of ocean shipping, some added perspective is useful, particularly related to consolidation among container carriers.

The agreement creates a framework for Federal Maritime Commission and Department of Justice officials to share information and expertise when relevant and useful to monitoring and enforcing shipping law.

Terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are bracing for spike in imports from China later this month as a backlog of US-bound cargo built up during the recent COVID-19 outbreak there arrives on the West Coast.

Cost concerns will temper more radical proposals to mitigate the effects of the next container shipping shock, but there is a sense that things will be different as demand becomes more volatile and pricing power shifts further away from shippers to carriers.

US retailers say that after setting another record in May, import volumes will remain unusually strong by historical standards, further intensifying the operational bottlenecks along the US supply chain.

After scrambling for vessel space and paying record spot rates in the second quarter, retailers and other importers are being warned by carriers and forwarders to expect even higher rates and tighter space constraints in the third quarter.

The Biden administration later this week will roll out an executive order asking the US Federal Maritime Commission and the Surface Transportation Board to step up in the face of what it sees as monopolistic behavior.

A wide-ranging plan by South Korea to bolster its container shipping sector is driven in part to reverse the loss of business and weakening of logistics networks for South Korean shippers following the 2016 collapse of Hanjin Shipping.

Dedicated chassis fleets at US ports are almost a necessity now for carriers that offer premium trans-Pacific services that guarantee equipment availability.

CMA CGM has acquired a rail operator in Spain, adding an intermodal dimension to the ocean carrier’s expanding integrated service portfolio.

Retailers welcome new Asia-US services by Maersk and Cosco/OOCL, but expect minimal impact on the huge supply/demand imbalance in the trade.

Indian exporters already facing July general rate increases from carriers have a new cost to worry about — a “heavy lift surcharge” levied by Hapag-Lloyd, with other liners expected to follow suit.

Vessel on-time performance to the West and East coasts improved slightly in May for the second consecutive month, although it was still the worst May ever recorded in the Asia-North America trade.

Hapag-Lloyd’s North American president said shippers face the prospect of elevated rates through 2022 as the ability of all ocean and motor carriers to inject additional capacity is at its limit.

The US Department of Transportation met with groups representing major container lines and retailers, and officials say they are looking at solutions to mitigate the capacity crunch causing port congestion.

TradeLens has followed expansion into China with full integrations of Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express, meaning the platform now has five of the world’s top six container lines.

There is a danger in Congress legislating an update to US shipping law during a crisis — a potential overreach and overreaction to an unprecedented global crisis that could ultimately hurt the shippers so-called reforms hope to help.