Container lines

Taiwan's Yang Ming has completed a profitable 2017 on the back of a stronger container market and a recapitalization plan.

Beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) continue to enjoy low spot rates in the eastbound Pacific despite carriers’ attempts to reduce effective capacity through blank sailings. However, small and mid-size BCOs in LA-LB are paying a price for the blank sailings, as terminals cancel work shifts to save money.

The total effective tax on ocean going vessel businesses was almost 27 percent — something that discouraged business executives from investing in the sector. According to officials, the effective high tax rate also discouraged many vessel owners from registering their vessels in Bangladesh.

It has been a good year for ZIM, which has returned to profit following a huge loss-making 2016.

The heads of the IBM/Maersk joint venture said 24 companies are being onboarded with roughly 70 more in the pipeline, and are seeking to allay forwarders’ fears that the initiative is encroaching on their end-to-end supply chain services.

Capacity scheduled for deployment on the Asia-North Europe and Mediterranean trades over the next 12 weeks is well above the expected demand for the year.

US truck capacity pressure, exacerbated by the federal electronic logging device mandate, is trickling down to all modes of inland cargo transportation: railroad, drayage, and transloading and long-haul truckload. Ocean carriers are responding with a mixture of actions.

Rising demand for Europe exports in South America has pushed southbound volume ahead of the containers heading north.

Terminal operators are trying to connect with owners of cargo and improve control of the end-to-end supply chain — moves that mirror those being employed by their container line customers.

The 2M Alliance will adjust its Asia-Europe network, losing many direct calls in a revamp aimed at improving reliability.

It was the best year yet for CMA CGM as strong demand, higher rates, and a full-year contribution from APL boosted revenue and volume.

There was no sign of a peak shipping period on Asia-Europe routes in the run up to the Lunar New Year in 2018.

SM Line Corporation has again appealed to its larger compatriot rival Hyundai Merchant Marine to collaborate on trans-Pacific routes.

The bulk of regional economic fundamentals indicate a strong year is ahead for container trade, GDP growth, earnings growth, and job creation — with all of the positives that implies for lateral sectors and society.

One weekly service between South Korea and Vietnam has been cut, but it will have a negligible impact on the highly fragmented trade route.

Spot rates in the eastbound Pacific this week crashed through the psychologically important levels of $1,000 to the West Coast and $2,000 to the East Coast, despite continued growth in import volumes.

Maersk Line will make alternative vessels available to European exporters after a fire crippled the Maersk Honam in the Arabian Sea.

The Global Port Tracker projects monthly increases in containerized imports beginning in April, but a trade war precipitated by the Trump administration's steel and aluminum tariffs could change those projections later this year.

Ocean carriers want to put the past 10 years behind them; it was a time when their focus went inward, and unsuccessfully so. Much rebuilding is needed to re-establish credibility with customers. One opportunity is the small shipper market. But can carriers make their services Amazon-like for small shippers?

The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee is working on a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, which includes a list of short- and long-term measures.

From rising protectionism underscored by President Donald Trump’s attack on steel and aluminum imports, to a new reality regarding US surface capacity, there are new challenges for shippers and transportation providers that demand action rather than hand-wringing.

A fire on board the Maersk Honam has left four crew missing in the Arabian Sea off Salalah.

In a few years, a few, independent mega-carriers could be competing outside of alliances, the chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority said.

US exports are on a growth track, but export expansion could be derailed or slowed if the United States enters a trade war.

While there was room for “a little more” consolidation, One Network Express CEO Jeremy Nixon told the TPM 2018 conference that from a product and network perspective, he expected to see stability continue over the next two years.

Shippers may find that Hapag-Lloyd’s use of CargoSphere’s rate translation systems makes it faster and easier to see what their negotiated rates mean for the cost of sending cargo on different routes around the world.

The São Paulo Harbor Authority’s six-month investigation concluded that the Log-In Pantanal’s captain, its first mate, and two other officers were at fault.

Singapore-based APL will launch a fast premium service between Shanghai and LA in June to lure shippers of air freight to ocean.

Container shipping supply and demand appear to be moving closer toward balance, according to three economists addressing the 18th Annual TPM Conference in Long Beach.

CMA CGM wants “to be more than a price tag” and to that end will roll out insurance, trade finance, and technology and digitization efforts to make the carrier more responsive to shipper needs.

Maersk Line said in a statement that the poor weather caused 70 to 73 containers to collapse or fall into the ocean at 8:15 p.m. on March 3.

Beneficial cargo owners can look for only modest rate hikes in service contract negotiations beginning this month, due to a projected 8 to 9 percent increase in trans-Pacific capacity, while imports are projected to increase 5 to 6 percent, according to Alphaliner.

RCL said improving economic conditions in Europe and the United States as well as throughout Asia, along with growth in exports from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore to China, in particular, render brighter future prospects for the shipping industry, despite overcapacity.

Hapag-Lloyd's 2017 results included seven months of United Arab Shipping Company's performance data; even so, the strong increase in volume and revenue did little to boost average freight rates.

Tim Smith has relinquished his position as the Beijing-based chairman of Maersk China and chief representative of Maersk Group in north Asia and will take up his new role with APM Terminals on 1 March.

CMA said the plan provides door-to-door coverage for 30 days before loading and after discharge of goods on and from a CMA CGM vessel. However, the risk cover is restricted to single-shipper bills of lading.

HMM says mega-ships will be ordered in the first half of 2018 but provided no info on the number of vessels or their sizes.

Analysts are trying to figure out HMM's growth plans, with the South Korean carrier widely expected to place its mega-ship order.

Shippers sending goods between Europe and the United States should track the goods carefully and be ready to cope with delays, after a year of decreasing carrier schedule reliability on the trans-Atlantic routes.

In the period ahead, the container shipping industry may look different, but know this: that will be due to technology, not consolidation. Consolidation, so far, has reduced the number of carriers but has not changed behaviors.