Forwarding

The Panama Canal, following a widely reported payments dispute with contractors that threatens to delay its expansion, went on the counteroffensive this week with a new website designed to provide “Clarification of the most common doubts about the Expansion.”

The trans-Atlantic, the mature granddad container trade lane where nothing much happens, is looking forward to a rare burst of excitement in 2014.

Many significant developments are on the horizon for the global container shipping industry in 2014...

As part of a slot sharing agreement, seven container lines will cooperate on three existing Far East-to-Indian subcontinent services, effective in February 2014.

U.S.-flag carriers play a vital role in military shipments but struggle to compete for commercial cargo, shippers told a Maritime Administration symposium aimed at reviving the American merchant marine.

U.S. trade with Latin America is poised to expand in the coming years, which highlights the need to accelerate port and infrastructure development in the region.

Container freight indices are being used in shipper-carrier contracts but futures trading as a hedging mechanism has yet to take off.

As Maersk Line creates a new container shipping division to cater to the north-south trades in Latin America, NVOCCs are also ramping up investments in the growing region.

Major container lines hope to implement rate increases in a variety of trades in January and February, despite signs that any hikes achieved may be fleeting.

California’s ports on Jan. 1 became the first in the world to require that container lines operate their vessels from shore-side electrical power while at berth, and this potentially industry-changing event is proceeding without any major problems.

A.P. Moller-Maersk today announced it is selling the majority of its stake in Denmark’s largest supermarket chain in the latest move to divest non-core operations and focus on container shipping and energy.

The Suez Canal Authority has invited 14 consortia to present plans to develop the waterway into a logistics and industrial hub.

Japanese containerized cargo exports will rise for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2014, which starts on April 1, amid a moderate recovery in the global economy, a Tokyo-based research firm predicted in a new report.

Maersk Tankers has sold its fleet of 15 very large crude carriers to Euronav, a Belgian tanker operator, for $980 million, allowing A.P. Moller-Maersk to focus on its core businesses.

Container lines are looking at the possibility that the gap between supply and demand globally will widen in 2014, likely exacerbating rate volatility and challenging carriers to be profitable.

The Panama Canal Authority has a contingency plan to fall back on if it cannot resolve its dispute on cost overruns with the engineering consortium that is building its new locks.

Maersk is reportedly close to selling its fleet of 15 very large crude carriers as it continues to offload non-core operations to focus on container shipping.

Major container lines have announced planned rate increases for a variety of trades, as detailed below, slated to take effect in January and February.

Seventeen of the Top 20 container carriers worldwide are expecting deliveries of new ships in the next 12 months, which could make 2014 a record-breaking year for capacity...

Political protests in Bangladesh are causing lengthy delays for inbound and outbound shipments via Chittagong, the country’s busiest gateway hub port, according to reports from Dhaka.

The fleet of idled surplus container ships hit 718,000 20-foot-equivalent units in mid-December, and lay-ups will persist for the next two years, as record deliveries of new vessels will continue to keep supply and demand out of sync, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.

For mid-sized non-vessel operating common carriers operating in the eastbound trans-Pacific, the game has suddenly changed.

Baltic ports, already the fastest growing European container hubs, are seeking to capitalize on new ocean carrier alliances to attract more cargo, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

Shippers of containerized cargo to Japan, be forewarned: the Japanese version of the U.S. 24-hour advanced manifest rule will soon be going into effect. This means that after March 8, 2014, shipments that don’t contain the needed information in shipping instructions will be rejected for loading by customs authorities.

Major container lines have announced planned rate increases for a variety of trades, as detailed below, slated to take effect in December and January.

When shippers look ahead to 2014, they see a repeat performance of this year, but with even more volatility. The capacity that will come with the multitude of big container ships due for delivery next year will outstrip any increases in global demand for vessel space, so carriers won’t be able to sustain the freight rate increases they will seek.

The Egyptian military has significantly beefed up security along the Suez Canal in recent months, both to show it’s serious about combating terrorism along the 120-mile long waterway and to protect one of the country’s most import sources of revenues.

Cascading of large container ships from the Asia-Europe market into North-South trades is significantly eroding pricing in those markets, according to Drewry.

Germany’s top eight ship financiers face up to €16 billion euros ($22 billion) in credit losses in 2014 as an increasing number of shipping companies face difficulties in repaying their loans, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The Doha round of talks began in 2001, and there seemed little chance of a breakthrough. But surprising almost all but the most optimistic of multilateral advocates, a breakthrough was indeed achieved as WTO negotiators produced the first major accord in the organization’s 18-year history.

The international shipping and logistics industry has welcomed the far-reaching trade facilitation reforms agreed to in Bali last week as part of the World Trade Organization’s latest effort to revitalize the Doha round of global trade talks.

NEWARK, N.J. — Costs at North American ports will continue to rise unless berth, yard and gate productivity increases enough to handle all the big container ships coming their way. And container lines likewise will see their port costs rise, even if current productivity levels stay the same.

The advent of the P3 Network and the likely expansion of other mega-alliances among the top 20 container lines mean that vessels with capacities of 8,000 to 10,000 20-foot-equivalent units will become the workhorses of the U.S. container trades, according to Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority.

Container volumes through U.S. ports will increasingly come into balance between imports and exports as U.S. manufacturing — which is often export-focused — accelerates in coming years, said James Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority.

The takeover of the Lazaro Cardenas port in November by the Mexican army underscores an enduring reality in Latin America: its ports a breeding ground for corruption, according to the global risk consultancy Control Risks.

Shippers looking to transship goods via the Caribbean will gain more options and enjoy greater capacity at existing hubs as the opening of the expanded Panama Canal nears. The big question is which Caribbean ports’ dreams of a traffic surge will materialize at the terminals and which ones will fade like a tropical mirage.

The Asian Shippers' Council believes the Sri Lankan government has struck a blow for shippers by making the collection of terminal handling charges and other fees...

U.S. private equity group KKR is seeking a buyer for its majority stake in U.N. Ro-Ro, the Turkish roll-on, roll-off shipping line it acquired in 2007.

Container lines currently use a variety of methods to announce general rate increases, but those tactics could become more regulated in the future...

Midwest grain and soybean exporters who ship by barge down the inland waterways system will gain an advantage over global competitors at the end of 2015. That’s when the Panama Canal’s big new locks open to commercial traffic, allowing larger ships to carry more product from the U.S. Gulf to fast-growing markets in Asia at lower cost.