Container Shipping News

Under the spotlight at MEPC 82 are midterm measures consisting of a technical element to reduce GHG intensity of fuels and a pricing mechanism to narrow the gap between fossil and green fuel.

Despite record import volumes in August, marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are experiencing minimal congestion, with elevated rail container dwell times the only problem area.

While there are still regulatory hurdles to clear, a spokesperson for DSV told the Journal of Commerce the combined company “will continue under the DSV brand” going forward.

The forwarder did not provide financial details, but CEO James Gagne told the Journal of Commerce the transaction puts SEKO on solid financial footing.

The contingency plans by the ports come as some ocean carriers are cutting off new export bookings ahead of the possible work stoppage and issuing surcharges for cargo en route to ports that may be closed on Oct. 1.

Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory that ships were already waiting up to 60 hours to berth at Shanghai and up 48 hours to berth in Ningbo due to vessel bunching ahead of the storm.

Ports and ocean carriers are now figuring out the playbook for how to handle what would be the first strike to hit the US East and Gulf coasts in nearly half a century.

Carriers tell the Journal of Commerce they would prefer to avoid a strike and the lengthy operational upheaval a stoppage would cause along the East and Gulf coasts, but unlike in the past, they feel no urgency to get a deal done, writes Peter Tirschwell.

It’s a play by carriers to tempt NVOs with a reopened annual contract that, while higher than the deal they signed last spring, is still below current spot rates that have fallen from an early-summer peak.

DSV knocked the unions’ preferred bidder, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, out of the race, but the forwarder’s bid now needs approval from the German parliament.

The carrier this week unveiled a comprehensive network coverage plan, coupled with two slot-swap agreements, that it described as “independent, competitive and complete.”

For shippers fending off one supply chain shock after another, all the while trying to keep inventory and other supply costs in control, what is happening on the carrier front for them is yet another headache, and one not likely curable any time soon.

As supply-demand dynamics rapidly shift back to the shipper side, all general rate increases and peak season surcharges that have failed to take off since early August are now being pushed to October.

As the threat of a US port strike approaches, the Biden administration must walk a particularly precarious line: Don’t upset union voters ahead of the presidential election while protecting the economy and an image of responsible economic stewardship.

The Global Port Tracker now projects US imports this month will hit 2.31 million TEUs, up 14% from the same month a year ago; last month’s report expected the year-over-year increase for September to be 6.5%.

The revised service plan from partners Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk includes scenarios via both the Cape of Good Hope and Suez Canal, with a decision due next month on which option will be chosen when the alliance launches in February.

The US maritime regulator sees no reason to block the new vessel-sharing alliance run by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, but the agency’s head still has concerns about the deal.

Most of the investment will be allocated to expanding the container shipping division that aims to grow to 130 ships in the next five years.

Spot rates from Asia to the US East Coast are dropping faster than in past years as carriers route discretionary shipments to the West Coast to avoid getting caught up in a threatened dockworker strike on the East and Gulf coasts.

East and Gulf coast maritime employers laid out their terms for signing a new contract with longshore workers, but they warned the ‘signal’ to strike is clear.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is wasting no time utilizing its huge scale, striking major slot sharing agreements on the Asia-Europe with new Premiere alliance members.

ONE is adding a second loop connecting West India and the Middle East, as well as three East Asia-Middle East routes as new carrier alliances take shape.

Dwell times at marine terminals in the Northwest Seaport Alliance have doubled in recent weeks as intermodal container moves spiked amid peak season imports.

A big jump in spot rates was pegged to the cascading impacts of blank sailings and a volume rush from shippers ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday in October.

After five rounds of negotiations and a series of 24-hour warning strikes at Germany’s ports, the union and port employers may finally be close to an agreement.

Despite sources telling the Journal of Commerce that management has reached out more than 10 times since June seeking new talks, none have been scheduled and there now appears to be little motivation on the part of management or labor to secure a deal to avert a strike.

With just three weeks to go until the union’s master contract with port employers expires, US importers are scrambling for options but are finding there are no ideal alternatives.

The International Longshoremen’s Association is starting to coordinate local labor actions as its executive leaders note the ongoing “impasse” in talks with maritime employers.

New cranes on order will serve the larger ships that are coming with the expected 2025 completion of a multi-year project to widen Houston’s ship channel to accommodate two-way traffic of neo-Panamax vessels, Charlie Jenkins tells the Journal of Commerce.

Shippers with substantial cargo volumes and just-in-time inventories look for an optimum mix of frequency, transit time and schedule reliability in ocean services, writes analyst Jeremy Masters.

Mundra — India’s top container port — is dealing with operational chaos after it was forced to halt operations for a few days last week in the aftermath of severe weather.

Forwarders booking less-than-containerload business from shippers face documentation and pricing challenges that cut into their ability to carve out margin.

Strong economic growth in the region has led to the deployment of more capacity and increased the number of services from China.

While rates remain more than four times higher than this point last year, forwarders and carriers report an easing of demand ahead of the traditional end to the peak shipping period.

Cargo Services will expand the global port operator’s reach in Asia across a range of industry verticals.

A new warehouse due to open early next year in Portland for frozen and ambient-temperature cargoes could cut transportation costs for shippers now using out-of-state storage and ports.

Forwarders say carrier executives are seeking volume-linked pricing expectations after dictating terms over the last two months or so.

The added capacity — 14 extra-loaders at each port — comes amid peak season demand and an anticipated boost in discretionary cargo diverted from ports along the US East and Gulf coasts as shippers protect themselves from potential longshore labor disruption.

The carrier said it was “cautiously optimistic” about business prospects in the second half of the year, while acknowledging that a “complex geopolitical situation,” delivery of new capacity and rising costs could provide headwinds in the coming months.

The US maritime regulator said the ocean carrier did not simply have a contractual dispute with a shipper but instead clearly violated the US Shipping Act.