Container lines

The prospects of a trade deal between China and the United States, which would remove the 25 percent tariffs on agricultural goods, are still murky. But some so-called goodwill purchases by the Chinese in bulk shipments following the freezing of an escalation of US tariffs earlier this month has raised hopes for a deal.

Impressive diversification of export markets in Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America has shielded US resin shippers from the worst effects of the trade war with China.

The International Maritime Organization’s low-sulfur fuel mandate will cause all-in container freight costs to rise next year, but there is a bigger bill coming in the form of decarbonization.

Downward rate pressure caused by overcapacity and the wide range of fuel surcharge levels carriers are presenting to cargo owners suggests that fuel cost will become a competitive battleground in the aftermath of IMO 2020.

A slight increase in eastbound trans-Pacific spot rates reflects final shipments that left China before Golden Week, but dozens of blank sailings already announced for October-November indicate carriers expect imports to be weak going forward.

US imports from China fell 9.3 percent in September, the fifth straight monthly decline. Coupled with 37 blank sailings for October and November, it appears peak season will end on a sour note.

The two-day "El Dorado" tech experience will address the growing need among beneficial cargo owners, third-party logistics providers, container lines, ports, and other freight transportation interests to understand the true value of technology and navigate an increasingly complex landscape of vendors and emerging technologies.

Although Typhoon Hagibis was the strongest storm to hit Japan in decades, carriers are reporting only minor disruptions to schedules and minimal damage to port infrastructure.

Carriers will blank at least 37 individual sailings this month and next and suspend an entire weekly service as they attempt to stop further erosion in freight rates in the eastbound Pacific.

The tariff war between the US and China has cooled significantly with news the two powers have reached a “very substantial” first phase of a trade deal.

Carriers would need complete control of the supply chain in order to successfully offer premium services, including time-definite delivery, an executive from Zim Integrated Shipping Services said.

India’s Ministry of Shipping has met with various stakeholders in recent weeks to review options for streamlining logistics costs, particularly where intermediaries make up a significant burden for cargo interests.

As manufacturing continues to shift from China to countries in Southeast Asia, the diversification of sourcing will result in an increase in trade flows and greater need for logistics support, speakers at the JOC TPM Asia Conference said.

Container shipping rates are set to climb amid more balanced growth between cargo demand and vessel supply, while fuel costs will rise as carriers switch to low sulfur fuels to comply with the International Maritime Organization's tougher emission controls from January 2020.

In his keynote address at the JOC TPM Asia Conference in Shenzhen, Cosco's Wang Haimin said US tariffs are accelerating the shift of production of furniture, tires, machinery, and footwear from China to Southeast Asia.

Growing US containerized exports to other countries in Asia are nowhere near enough to offset the rapidly declining exports to China as the US-China trade war drags on, exporters say.

Carriers who enjoyed a strong first half of 2019 on the trans-Atlantic trade will have to temper their expectations for the fourth quarter following the WTO approval of US tariffs on a range of European imports.

The US Customs and Border Protection is investigating three companies for possibly evading antidumping and countervailing duties on hardwood plywood imports.

Retailers predict a November spike in imports driven by inventory replenishment and the race to get ahead of Dec. 15 tariffs on $300 billion of imports from China.

The Marseille-based technology provider has developed a UN standard for sensor-based container messages it hopes will be used widely throughout the industry to make such systems interoperable for potential buyers and users of tracking solutions and associated analytics.

Small and mid-size NVOs are chipping away at the market shares of the top five NVOs in Asia-US trade by moving aggressively on smaller accounts and responding quickly to declining spot rates.

The creation of a coalition — supported by more than 70 public and private organizations including Maersk, Royal Dutch Shell, and Lloyd’s Register — to drive commercial efforts to decarbonize international shipping is the latest example of an industry beginning to grasp the Herculean tests that lie ahead

With liner schedule reliability a persistent bugaboo, the German container line is turning to Portchain to highlight in real time disruption to schedules.

The convergence of contract and spot rates for ocean freight and the increased availability of instant digital quoting tools is pushing more cargo to the spot market and changing shipper negotiation strategies for long-term contracts.

An early blockchain-based liner shipping product has shuttered due to a lack of demand, signaling that the industry is still struggling to understand the concept and the value of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

The Chittagong Customs House has suspended the license of Continental Traders, the local agent of COSCO Shipping, a move that could cause significant disruptions to the Chinese state-run container carrier’s operations in Bangladesh.

After seeing four weeks of declining spot rates in September-- when rates should be increasing -- and with factory closures coming next week during Golden Week celebrations in China, NVOs who sell in the spot market say further rate declines are possible.

BCOs are urged to prepare their C-Suites for an up to 9 percent increase in ocean freight costs after IMO 2020 takes effect Jan. 1.

The partnership with JDA is the latest sign of how Maersk is seeking to become an integrator, deepening its reach into landside transport, customs brokerage, and distribution.

Carriers in the trans-Pacific may reduce capacity beyond what they have already announced for October by choosing not to replace vessels that will be removed from deployment in November and December to transition to IMO 2020-compliant fuel.

US Customs and Border Protection’s 90-day suspension of the carrier’s trusted trade status ended Sept. 16, but not before damaging Mediterranean Shipping Co's brand and spurring some multinational cargo owners to hold off on booking.

The newly formed Getting to Zero Coalition, comprising members of the maritime, energy, infrastructure, and financial sectors, will lead commercial efforts to meet the International Maritime Organization’s goal of halving carbon emissions from shipping by 2050.

CMA CGM has backed off from a proposed $50 administrative fee for detention and demurrage documentation processing after swift customer pushback.

The FMC’s recommendations stem from an 18-month effort led by Commissioner Rebecca Dye to address complaints from cargo owners and drayage drivers over what they considered unfair fees for failing to pick up cargo and return equipment in a timely manner.

With holiday season imports unable to gain traction and spot rates declining for the third consecutive week, peak-season 2019 will be defined by blanked sailings rather than surging cargo volumes.

John Butler, CEO and president of the World Shipping Council, said a number of studies suggest mandatory slow-steaming — one of many proposals the International Maritime Organization is considering — would force carriers to deploy more ships in order to keep service commitments.

Maersk has “seen an understanding from the vast majority of customers” that they’ll need to pay higher fuel surcharges due to the IMO low-sulfur mandate, which will cost the container shipping industry $10 billion to $15.7 billion more annually, according to various estimates

The US Department of Agriculture has approved nine new locations for its longstanding in-transit cold treatment program in the southern and western parts of the country.

Fluctuations in tariffs have long necessitated a diversified and nimble supply chain strategy, but the current US-China trade war is creating unique challenges in the refrigerated cargo sector.

Container carriers in the slowing US import and export trades are exercising increased discipline, maintaining capacity levels rather than introducing new vessels in an attempt to secure a larger share of the market.