Container Shipping News

If trans-Pacific container lines put their outlook to music, they might want to borrow from Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same.” This year, after all, is shaping up very much like 2013, when modest growth in demand combined with faster growth in capacity to hammer rates and force carriers to chase regular — and short-lived — rate increases from spring through fall.

China’s export competitiveness may be stagnating or eroding in key low-end commodities such as footwear, toys and furniture, but in consumer appliances and electronics, which require more technology in manufacturing, China is increasing its market share, according to a Jan. 7 report by Barclays out of Hong Kong.

The major risks to Asian economic and trade growth this year lie in Europe and the U.S., according to one leading Asia based analyst.

Hanjin Shipping is pulling out of several money-losing trades to cut its ongoing losses.

Hapag-Lloyd is closing in on a deal to take over CSAV, which would create the world’s fourth largest ocean carrier, according to a German language newspaper.

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.

The Asia-Europe container market hogged the headlines in 2013 and looks set to dominate the industry’s agenda through 2014 as a flood of mega-ships hits the water amid sluggish cargo growth that saw two consecutive flat peak seasons and economic challenges at both ends of the world’s biggest trade lane.

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.

APL will move from its current geographically organized structure to a functional one, according to the Singapore-based container line.

Shipping lines could find the intra-Asia trades an unhappy hunting ground in 2014 after a similarly tough 2013. But the long-term outlook remains positive.

“K” Line has plans to shift its focus from “protective” policies to an “offensive” approach, according to the head of the Japanese shipping company.

Maersk Line is reviving the SeaLand name it acquired in 1999 to rebrand the regional intra-Americas services in a new container-shipping company it plans to launch early next year.

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.

The MSC Monterey is expected to sail to Boston on Jan. 3, following temporary repairs to a crack in its main deck that forced the Liberian-registered container ship to abort its voyage...

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...

Seaspan has entered into an agreement to extend and refinance its $1.0 billion credit facility.

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 MSC Monterey aborted a voyage from Antwerp to Boston after its crew discovered a crack in main deck of the Liberian-registered container ship as it sailed past the Newfoundland coast on Friday.

India’s engineering exports to the U.S. tumbled nearly 10 percent year-over-year in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (2013-14), according to the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India.

Hapag-Lloyd’s chairman is urging the German carrier’s domestic rival Hamburg Süd to join its merger talks with CSAV, the Chilean container line.

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.

Hyundai Group is planning to sell off assets to generate cash to help out Hyundai Merchant Marine.

Hanjin Shipping is planning to invite Evergreen Line to join the CKYH Alliance to improve that network’s competitive posture, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports.

Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV have much to gain by joining forces, but the German and Chilean ocean carriers will face difficulties striking a financial deal, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

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

United Arab Shipping Co. has closed a $1.251 billion loan for the partial financing of seven 14,000-TEU container ships and five 18,000-TEU container ships...

Believing the trans-Pacific eastbound market is in their favor headed into 2014 contract negotiations, shippers are sending requests for proposals from carriers seeking low rate levels and other concessions.

Maersk Line said it still remains confident of securing approval for the P3 alliance and meeting the summer launch target following this week’s meeting of...

Crowley Maritime expects to see 20 percent growth in its Puerto Rican transshipment volume, coming from the recent reclassification of its...

Analysts expect no pickup in the performance of container shipping line Yang Ming for at least another year due its high unit costs, small ships and over-exposure to major East-West trades.

A record 450,000 TEUs of capacity is set to be deleted from the world container ship fleet in 2013 and the average age of ships scrapped has fallen to an all-time low of 22 years, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.