Trans-Pacific

Cosco said changes in the shipping alliances this year will trigger competition in digitization and decarbonization.

Container lines serving the India-US trade appear to be taking a hard line in the first round of annual contract negotiations amid overcapacity putting downward pressure on spot rates.

A group of seven Asia-based regional carriers are collaborating to add a weekly long-haul service on the eastbound trans-Pacific despite bearish market signals.

The growing backlog of boxes awaiting a return to Asia has resulted in finger pointing among stakeholders over how best to address the problem.

Despite banking a collective operating profit of about $60 billion in 2024, a worsening supply-demand imbalance could make the next three years difficult for the container shipping industry.

Fresh questions about the direction of the US economy after the tariff chaos unleashed by the Trump administration in recent weeks has container lines resetting their rate expectations for the 2025–26 service year.

The Cosco Shipping subsidiary recorded another highly profitable year but pointed to growing geopolitical uncertainties and industry-specific challenges that will test container shipping in the year ahead.

Zim’s decision to keep more capacity available for spot rather than contract business on the trans-Pacific allowed it to capitalize on the expanded deployment of capacity on the trade.

Analyst Lars Jensen’s closing message to conference participants planning their supply chains for the coming year is to move slowly and carefully because it will take months before clarity emerges.

While the new network will need two cycles to be fully phased in through the next two or three months, the Hapag-Lloyd CEO said Gemini was “off to a good start” with 550 port calls made so far and 45 of 57 services already started.

The measures are the latest in a series of support packages announced by South Korean trade organizations and government bodies to help the country’s small and medium-sized exporters weather capacity restrictions and volatile freight rates.

Container lines in the US’ busiest trade lane, determined to avoid a repeat of last year when they believe they significantly underpriced their services, are seeking rate gains of 20% to 30% for the upcoming service year.

The US Trade Representative said the proposed fees are designed to counter China’s influence over the global shipbuilding and maritime industry.

Forwarders say demand expectations for trans-Pacific imports to North America are softening for the second quarter, forcing liners to reduce peak season surcharges that have been in place for almost a year.

Cargo tracking shows no clear advantage for Chinese-based ocean carriers transiting the critical waterway, throwing doubt on the US president’s claims of China’s influence, according to a report from the visibility data provider.

The forwarder reported solid results to close 2024 as unknowns linked to US longshore labor, tariff policy and changes to de minimis rules fueled trans-Pacific freight demand.

Smaller forwarders on the trade lane are pooling their cargo volumes in formal and informal arrangements to get vessel space at favorable fixed rates as some carriers focus primarily on larger customers.

The top 15 liners in the Journal of Commerce rankings collectively carried 18.8 million TEUs to the US from Asia last year, up 17.3% from 2023.

But Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said US port cargo “could be badly hit” if tariffs on Asian and European countries increase prices and prompt US consumers to buy less.

Three carriers who were part of the now-disbanded THE Alliance can start offering service to and from the US by Sunday after the Federal Maritime Commission studied the new partnership’s market impact.

The most significant drop will take place in the second half of the month after Lunar New Year, with about 7% of the lost capacity attributed to a short month and “gaps in service handoffs,” according to maritime intelligence firm eeSea.

The comments by Louis Sola during a Senate hearing come amid rising US scrutiny of Chinese influence over the crucial waterway.

Liners believe they left money on the table in 2024–25 service contracts, sources tell the Journal of Commerce, and are putting up opening quotes about 25% higher than a year ago in their initial talks with customers.

President Donald Trump injecting himself into longshore labor talks and his recent threat to take over the Panama Canal are a precursor to the unpredictability container shipping will face over the next four years, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The ocean carrier made the changes ahead of the launch of its partnership with Hapag-Lloyd, referring shippers to the new alliance’s services as an alternative.

A pledge by Houthi militants to focus ship attacks on Israel-linked vessels is not enough to encourage ocean carriers to end their diversions around Africa and return to transits via the Suez Canal.

The pricing move means a general rate increase planned by carriers for Jan. 15 will not be implemented, forwarders say, because demand is not sufficient to support another boost.

The carrier’s top-line financials are a clear signal that container shipping is firmly back in profitable territory following a poor end to 2023 that left several carriers nursing losses.

With the threat of a US port strike averted, the transition to new global service networks will not be accompanied by widespread disruption, the analyst believes.

Rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific are surging to peak-season levels as US retailers rush to ship merchandise before many factories in Asia close during the holiday celebrations that begin on Jan. 29.

Most US retailers say they have frontloaded sufficient inventory from Asia to get them through the first quarter, but planning import volumes and supply chains beyond that point remains problematic.

Despite a glut of capacity on the water, Suez Canal diversions and healthy volumes will keep container shipping vessel supply tight, analysts predict.

Bills introduced in the House and Senate seek to expand the US-flag international fleet from the current level of about 80 ships to 250 in 10 years and would require all government cargoes to be carried on US-flag vessels.

Shippers on the Europe-US trade lane are facing significant rate increases in January as the potential for disruption grows from labor uncertainty and new operating alliances.

Spot rates from Asia to the US rose to highs this week as a looming dockworker strike on Jan. 15, the early Lunar New Year in Asia and the threat of tariffs under the new administration are keeping front-loading of imports at unusually high levels for December.

The risk of an East and Gulf coast port strike, US tariffs on China, and service disruptions through the launch of new alliances and networks await the industry in the first two months of 2025, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

Both CMA CGM and MSC will add a surcharge to trans-Pacific cargo transiting the canal beginning Jan. 1, pointing to higher operating costs thanks to a new system of reserving transits through the waterway.

Severe weather and a rush of cargo before Lunar New Year celebrations slow Asian factory production are clogging major ports from Tokyo to Shanghai.

The Global Port Tracker upgraded its forecast for imports over the next several months despite the threat of labor unrest and new tariffs by the incoming Trump administration.

The February launch date coincides with the start of services by the Premier Alliance formed by ONE, HMM and Yang Ming.