Container lines

The new shuttle operation in southern India is significant as Colombo and Jebel Ali dominate transshipment movement to and from the east coast of the country.

The International Council of Containership Operators, also known as the Box Club, is shutting down operations after 48 years due to the changed environment for the industry.

In what is usually the slowest period of the year, US imports from Asia in the first five months of the year hit a new high-water mark, signaling to ports that the congestion issues they have faced may get worse as the peak season approaches.

Carriers posted an unprecedented level of profitability in the first quarter, as container shipping companies capitalized on a market in which the supply-demand balance is firmly in their favor.

The latest shipping line to be hit by a cyberattack, HMM said the incursion has crippled its email systems but has not affected its booking documentation functions and has not resulted in any data breaches.

A House subcommittee on Tuesday will be the first to address the impact of an unprecedented surge of Asia imports that began in the spring and container lines and ports don’t expect to let up until early 2022 at the soonest.

A House subcommittee on Tuesday will be the first to address the impact of an unprecedented surge of Asia imports that began in the spring and container lines and ports don’t expect to let up until early 2022 at the soonest.

Current conditions in the trans-Pacific trade, with strong demand and severe capacity shortages leading to hyper-charged freight rates, are temporary, but the question is: how temporary?

Trans-Pacific carriers are expected to follow their June 1 general rate increase with another on June 15 as huge demand for space and increasing costs for equipment and trucking at Asian load ports continue unfettered.

Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, outlines proposals to Congress to address what his members’ consider unfair detention and demurrage, and how to ensure container lines honor their common carriage responsibilities.

Hapag-Lloyd is making extra efforts to ease the burden on New York and New Jersey drayage drivers handling an unprecedented number of empty containers that have accumulated in the port.

With US imports accelerating as the peak shipping season approaches, two Chinese carriers with no previous presence in the Asia-US trades will begin to deploy vessels to the West Coast in the coming weeks.

In an already maxed-out trans-Pacific system, disruptions such as the Suez Canal blockage and now worsening congestion in Southern China will increasingly limit the ability of carriers to honor their minimum quantity commitments.

Container lines are adding more alternatives to shipping through congested Yantian Container International Termina, as analysts and forwarders warn of another surge in spot container rate levels.

US retailers have upgraded their forecast for monthly imports through September and project continued international supply-chain congestion, possibly through the end of the year.

In reporting $2.1 billion in net income in the first quarter, CMA CGM pointed to logistics revenue growth that its solution-tailored strategy, powered by its CEVA acquisition, is gaining traction.

Due to vessel delays in Oakland, Zim is suspending its premium trans-Pacific service until at least late July and is re-routing the service from Central China to call in Los Angeles-Long Beach.

Ocean carriers have pushed the orderbook for new vessels to a multiyear high in 2021 thanks to the strength of the freight market and the dearth of surplus vessels.

Maersk called its carbon tax proposal a move that would “bridge the gap” between fossil fuels and greener options that not only cost more, but are years away from being available at scale.

The operational challenges for container shipping have now persisted for half a year, and they are seemingly nowhere nearer to getting resolved. If anything, they mainly appear to be getting worse.

After a COVID-19 outbreak, Yantian International Container Terminal on Monday began accepting export cargoes, but shipping executives say the congestion will take at least a week to clear.

Improved schedule reliability in the Asia-US trade in April offers encouragement that ports may be on track to clear their container backlogs before the summer-fall peak-shipping season.

Retailers should expect vessel space in Asia to get even tighter in June as advance bookings show continued strong demand for imports in the US, according to an industry analyst.

Walmart remained atop the list of the 100 largest US importers by a wide margin in 2020, while Koch Industries retained the No. 1 export spot.

A review of which goods and commodities saw the sharpest decreases and increases in 2020 speaks to how Americans spent their money while socially distanced and which sectors will continue to see heightened demand heading into the traditional peak season before the winter holidays.

The US Department of Transportation is looking to further fund its decade-old bid to bring more container-on-barge services to US waterways with $10 million in new grants available for 2021.

South Korean container lines HMM and SM Line will inject more than 82,000 TEU of monthly capacity on the trans-Pacific and Asia–Europe trades via extra loaders and the accelerated deployment of newbuild ships on existing loops.

Despite duties in China, vessel space limitations at US ports and equipment shortages at inland rail hubs, US containerized agricultural shipments increased seven percent in 2020.

In reporting a $590 million net income in the first quarter, Zim Integrated Shipping Services said it would expand its chartered fleet to handle what it expects will be 30 percent more volume in 2021 than in 2020.

Although US imports from Asia in April did not match the impressive volume recorded in March, it was nevertheless the busiest April on record and the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year import increases since last July.

Hapag-Lloyd has announced three ad-hoc sailings between the Indian Subcontinent and the US East Coast in May and June to feed a resurgent market for US imports from India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

The tight vessel capacity situation US retailers face on vessels leaving Asia today will likely continue at least into July, possibly running straight through to an early — and strong — projected back-to-school shopping season.

Having already achieved the economies of scale offered by larger vessels, carriers no longer need to order more capacity than is necessary to satisfy near-term demand.

Maersk’s gambit to achieve the previously unachievable – becoming an end-to-end integrator -- still has its skeptics, but is showing few signs of slowing down.

HMM has joined its peers in reporting a profitable first quarter, and the South Korean carrier expects the high rate/strong demand environment in container shipping to continue at least through the second quarter.

CMA CGM said the largest container ship to arrive on the North American East Coast will start calls next week as part of a capacity increase on its Southeast Asia service.

The list of container lines able to quote rates and accept bookings through their websites has expanded over the past year, with Singapore-based Ocean Network Express now giving shippers and forwarders such tools.

The upward revision to US import projections for peak shipping season sends a message to shippers and ports that tight vessel capacity and marine terminal congestion issues are far from over.

Looking at the cyclical history of container shipping and a rush of new vessel orders, it’s fair to wonder if the industry is setting itself up for another bout of overcapacity, but the reality is volumes will likely continue to grow faster than capacity.

Hapag-Lloyd said truckers in the port of New York and New Jersey will be able to start dropping off empties at a new container yard and that it is working to sweep up empties that have built up at marine terminals there amid the US import surge.