Container Shipping News

The longer the bigger and more established carriers divert away from the Suez, the more we will see niche carriers solidify not only their financial position but also their customer relations in the region, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

While some customers worry rail container dwell times could worsen, port stakeholders say they are accustomed to the ebb and flow and can manage the recent import surge.

Maersk’s recent big order of dual-fuel ships — some of which will be powered by LNG — illustrates the quandary the carrier, and by extension container shipping, is currently in when it comes to achieving a zero-carbon future, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The port is looking to employ the landlord model used at other West Coast ports that would allow a private operator to manage the T6 terminal’s daily operations and market the facility to ocean carriers and shippers.

Competition to fill ships in the eastbound trans-Pacific has become so intense in recent weeks that ocean carriers are offering a variety of special rates that are much lower than the spot rates they are quoting.

Hong Kong-based OOCL will contribute two vessels to the rebranded Indamex service that CMA CGM kicked off last week as a standalone operation after relinquishing its long-time consortium arrangement with Hapag-Lloyd.

The Cosco subsidiary said its ships on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trade lanes are fully loaded with volume secured at high rate levels.

Canada’s western ports have little capacity to handle idled intermodal cargo should railroad workers strike, but eastern ports have more space to manage any delays.

Many European shippers are locked into the peak season that will extend the high volume of Asian imports through the third quarter despite the early movement of orders to mitigate disruption from the longer Red Sea routing.

As competitive pressures build from a capacity boost on the trade lane, carriers are said to be extending significantly lower rates to their select customers, generally with a validity of one or two weeks.

The first signs of US importers beginning to advance shipments from Europe to get ahead of possible terminal closures along the US East and Gulf coasts at the end of September are being reported by carriers and forwarders.

Container lines calling in Tacoma say the congestion is being caused by a surge in import volumes and a shortage of rail cars that is likely to last at least through August.

A prolonged work stoppage at ports along the East and Gulf coasts would put global shipping under stress in a manner similar to the forced vessel diversions around southern Africa, Zim’s Xavier Destriau told the Journal of Commerce.

Most of Freightos’ traction in air and ocean freight procurement has centered around spot pricing, but the purchase of Shipsta will give it access to contract data from enterprise shippers.

A new $54.9 million fund has launched to support climate-focused logistics startups, a rare bright spot amid a larger pull-back in venture capital investment in the wider shipping industry.

After making significant investments in developing its methanol pathway over the past few years, and just a week after making a huge order for LNG-capable ships, the carrier is now looking into the feasibility of using nuclear energy in its vessels.

Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen’s view that the threat of a longshore strike has risen since early 2024 comes after Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said a strike was “highly unlikely.”

HHLA’s container volume and financial performance in the first six months has been a marked improvement on a disappointing 2023.

The results, the carrier’s strongest since the second half of 2022, follow those of fellow Taiwan liners Yang Ming Marine Transport and Wan Hai Lines, which reported healthy first-half financials on Monday.

Local freight forwarder sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce reported a significant downward correction in spot rates quoted by major carriers for their upcoming sailings in the second half of August.

Not only are several geopolitical scenarios being confronted with much larger stakes, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the possibility of escalation in the Middle East, but economists say there is little in the more than six-month shipping disruption that is cause for serious economic concern.

The carrier is preparing its container shipping network for any shifting cargo flows amid rising geopolitical risks and global trade tensions.

The investments are being made even though Yang Ming warned that the “world economic situation remains precarious,” with trade tensions and economic conditions in the US and Eurozone creating uncertainty.

Maritime employers say they are offering dockworkers along the East and Gulf coasts a better deal than the one received by their West Coast counterparts last year, but the union says the proposal is inadequate.

Acquiring a majority stake in Loconi International continues the Singapore-based terminal operator’s growth strategy designed to expand control of its cargo handling beyond the quay.

The closure of one of China’s busiest container ports will add to the lengthening vessel delays being seen on the main Asian export trade lanes, while North Europe grapples with its own congestion woes on the other end.

Despite the nearly $140 billion invested in logistics startups globally from 2012 through 2023, most of the industry’s major inefficiencies remain and the underlying structure of the industry has hardly changed.

When the tide turns, liners will need to show agility to avoid going from mega-profits to red ink, writes Jeremy Masters.

The retail giant will enable sellers using its US fulfillment services to access its negotiated ocean rates for full containers from Yantian, Shanghai and Ningbo.

With the potential for labor disruption looming at the end of September, the Global Port Tracker has again upgraded its short-term forecast for imports, saying it expects year-over-year monthly increases at least through the end of the year.

The future of shipping will consist of several different fuel technologies living side by side, with bunker fuels being part of the mix for “many years,” according to Vincent Clerc.

In a new report, industrial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle said fundamentals such as absorption of warehouse and distribution space, vacancy rates, deliveries of new properties and subleasing activity slowed in the second quarter.

The carrier believes the ongoing disruption in the Red Sea is now “entrenched” and will not change for the rest of the year.

Vincent Clerc instead expects the ILA and maritime employers to extend the current deal while talks continue rather than shutting down terminals when the contract expires at the end of September.

The crisis has surfaced on the heels of recent capacity expansions from major liners, particularly Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co., to tap booming apparel exports and associated input material inflows from China.

The disclosure of a 76% wage increase proposal comes as ILA sent a 60-day notice to the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) warning that the union is prepared to strike if a new labor deal is not signed before the current contract’s Sept. 30 expiration.

The differential between East and West coast spot rates is now more than $3,000 as retailers rush to ship their imports from Asia ahead of a possible strike by ILA dockworkers when their contract expires on Sept. 30.

The attempts to raise prices on the westbound trade lane come as the shadow of potential labor disruption looms at ports along the US East and Gulf coasts.

Matson’s second quarter financial earnings rose well above both last year and the consensus estimate as shippers looked to its expedited ocean services for relief from high air cargo rates.

With major liners on the trade lane reporting full ships over the last few weeks, incidents of cargo rolling have been more pervasive, forwarders say.