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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Wind OEM earnings grew as the business environment improved and companies continued to work their way through low-margin projects that were booked before inflation and supply chain snarls hit the industry. </div>

Wind OEM earnings grew as the business environment improved and companies continued to work their way through low-margin projects that were booked before inflation and supply chain snarls hit the industry.

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<div>Winds are blowing in a positive direction for global wind turbine makers, with three of the world’s largest OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) reporting profits in their latest earnings reports after a period of net losses and rough market conditions. The wind turbines built by these OEMs for offshore and onshore wind energy projects are a <a>key breakbulk cargo for multipurpose/heavy-lift (MPV/HL) carriers</a> and breakbulk logistics service providers. Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S, US-based General Electric (GE) and Germany’s Siemens Energy AG all reported profits in their most recent quarterly earnings and revenue gains across the board, while both GE and...

Winds are blowing in a positive direction for global wind turbine makers, with three of the world’s largest OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) reporting profits in their latest earnings reports after a period of net losses and rough market conditions. The wind turbines built by these OEMs for offshore and onshore wind energy projects are a key breakbulk cargo for multipurpose/heavy-lift (MPV/HL) carriers and breakbulk logistics service providers. Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S, US-based General Electric (GE) and Germany’s Siemens Energy AG all reported profits in their most recent quarterly earnings and revenue gains across the board, while both GE and Vestas shifted to the profit column for the 2023 fiscal year. Yet turbulent conditions haven’t completely died down for these companies, which are still working through post-pandemic backlogs as they recover f rom inflated materials costs and supply chain snafus. The earnings turnaround comes amidst some restructuring efforts. In June 2023, Siemens Energy completed its full takeover of its embattled subsidiary, turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa. Meanwhile, GE is preparing to spin off its energy unit, GE Vernova, as a standalone public company in early April 2024. Vernova will encompass the company’s portfolio of renewable energy and power businesses. Turbine troubles follow Siemens Siemens Energy AG saw profits return in the first quarter of its 2024 fiscal year, although the company continues to work through quality issues after re-absorbing its troubled wind-focused subsidiary, Siemens Gamesa, in June 2023. According to its Feb. 7 quarterly earnings release, Siemens Energy posted a net profit of $1.7 billion for the quarter, following a $644 million loss in the same period last year. The company attributed the profit boost to a high volume of orders and a one-time gain related to the company selling its stake in an Indian affiliate. Revenues rose to $8.2 billion, a 12.6% increase, while orders saw a 23.9% increase to $16.6 billion. “The solid first quarter is encouraging, in part also due to project shifts, which are normal in plant engineering, especially with the market dynamics we are currently seeing,” Christian Bruch, President and CEO of Siemens Energy AG, said in the earnings report. “That is why our focus remains on solving the quality problems in our onshore wind business and making the most of the growth potential for the rest of the company.” For the Siemens Gamesa segment of the business, which is focused on wind energy, orders saw modest growth to $1.7 billion, a 0.9% increase over last year. Vestas in ‘much better shape’ In line with its stated mantra of “getting back in black,” the world’s largest turbine maker, Vestas, turned a profit for the 2023 fiscal year after seeing losses in all four quarters of the previous year, the company announced Feb. 7 in its annual earnings report. The company posted an $87 million profit for the year, turning around a $1.7 billion loss in 2022. “We ended 2023 in much better shape than we began the year,” the company said in its earnings statement. “The business environment in the industry improved markedly over the months, and we worked our way through low-margin projects booked from 2020 to 2022.” Vestas reported a fourth-quarter net profit of $160.5 million; for the same period in 2022, it reported $581.2 million in net losses. Powering the year’s profits was a record-setting $19.9 billion in orders, marking a 55% increase over 2022. The company cited strong growth in both onshore and offshore orders, especially in the US. “Our order intake set a record of 18.4 GW [gigawatts] for the full year, which was driven by a record-setting fourth quarter that underlines our strong momentum at the end of the year,” said Henrik Anderson, group president and CEO. Vestas’ 2023 revenues reached $16.6 billion, a 6% increase over the previous year, and the company expects that growth to continue through 2024. Despite uncertainty from geopolitical volatility, slow permitting and insufficient grid buildout across markets, Vestas is forecasting 2024 revenues of $17.2 billion to $19.4 billion, with a combination of higher installations and increased pricing driving continued growth. Profits precede GE spinoff GE turned around its earnings for the year as the organization positions to launch its energy unit, GE Vernova, and its aviation business, GE Aerospace, as standalone companies in early April 2024. According to GE’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings released in late January, the company ended 2023 with a $10.2 billion profit for the fiscal year, turning around an $800 million loss in 2022. For the fourth quarter, net earnings climbed 28% to $1.6 billion. GE grew its revenues for both the fourth quarter and fiscal year, increasing 17% to $68 billion for the year and 15% year over year to $19.4 billion for the quarter. GE Vernova saw improved overall performance for the year, with the company securing its largest-ever wind turbine order. It will supply 2.4 GW to Pattern Energy’s SunZia project in New Mexico, which is touted as the largest wind project in US history. “The proof points we needed to see at renewable energy to confidently spin off GE Vernova came to fruition in 2023,” the report stated. The unit’s renewable energy segment saw a profit turnaround for its two biggest businesses, grid and onshore wind, with grid profitable for the year and onshore wind seeing profits in the back half of 2023. Revenues for GE Vernova’s renewable energy segment increased 16% to $15 billion for the 2023 fiscal year and increased 23% to $4.2 billion for the fourth quarter. While the renewables segment of GE Vernova saw a $1.4 billion loss for 2023, the loss marked a 36% increase from 2022. “We expect further revenue, profit and free cash flow growth for both GE Aerospace and GE Vernova in 2024,” said GE chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp Jr.  Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

Latest earnings put wind turbine manufacturers back in black

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A surge in replenishment activity in the US could turbocharge container shipping demand, while a wholesale return of container ships to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits would have a far-reaching market impact, speakers on a panel sponsored by the carrier said Wednesday.</div>

A surge in replenishment activity in the US could turbocharge container shipping demand, while a wholesale return of container ships to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits would have a far-reaching market impact, speakers on a panel sponsored by the carrier said Wednesday.

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<div class="phx-topic">Restocking depleted inventories in the US and a return of Red Sea-Suez Canal transits are the two biggest uncertainties facing the container shipping industry next year, a group of industry experts said Wednesday. A surge in replenishment activity could turbocharge container shipping demand. But a wholesale return of container ships to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits would have a far-reaching impact, creating significant congestion in Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia that would also impact US East Coast services, they said. ”Inventory restocking would have quite a big effect,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said during the online panel briefing organized by the company. Habben Jansen, who gave the odds of such a move at “well above 50%,” said restocking would likely increase container demand by more than 4% next year, compared to 4.7% growth so far this year. Fellow panelist Michael Aldwell, Kuehne + Nagel’s executive vice president for sea logistics, said the recent US government shutdown meant there were no reliable inventory statistics available, although it was assumed inventory levels have fallen to unsustainable levels amid the tariff-driven decline in shipments to the US. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="b2c4ed98-5885-4436-931d-5f035f537df1"></dynamic-object></div>Containerized US imports from Asia have fallen from the year’s high of 1.81 million TEUs in July to 1.6 million TEUs in October, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. The potential for the US to become more economically stable next year compared with the upheavals seen this year would “lead to substantial restocking,” Lars Jensen, CEO of consultant Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce contributor, added. <h3>Hapag has ‘a plan on the shelf’ for Red Sea transits </h3>Turning to the possibility of a resumption of Red Sea transits, Aldwell said aside from port congestion due to vessel bunching, there would also be landside bottlenecks with terminal congestion caused by shortages of trucks and equipment. He said carriers were likely to use both Red Sea and Cape of Good Hope routings in their schedules once it became clear the Red Sea was safe to use again, but there was still a lot of caution before that happened with vessel insurance and crew welfare among the issues that had to be taken into account. Some carriers, including CMA CGM, have made a tentative return to the Red Sea since Houthi rebels announced a ceasefire, with several vessels escorted by naval ships. Habben Jansen said Hapag-Lloyd had no immediate intention to return to Red Sea transits, although it has “a plan on the shelf to follow” once it does decide to shift back. ”The risk of significant congestion in the Mediterranean and North Europe is just huge,” he said of when carriers do return to normal transits. Jensen said assuming the latest ceasefire holds, the period after the Lunar New Year holiday in early March would be the best time to mitigate the impact from the disruption caused by transitioning back to Red Sea transits. He pointed out post-Lunar New Year is typically the slack season, so the combination of lower demand and vessel blankings would reduce congestion. Carriers have used the longer route around southern Africa since late 2023 when the Houthis began their attacks on commercial shipping to protest Israel’s move into Gaza. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com.</a></div>

Restocking depleted inventories in the US and a return of Red Sea-Suez Canal transits are the two biggest uncertainties facing the container shipping industry next year, a group of industry experts said Wednesday. A surge in replenishment activity could turbocharge container shipping demand. But a wholesale return of container ships to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits would have a far-reaching impact, creating significant congestion in Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia that would also impact US East Coast services, they said. ”Inventory restocking would have quite a big effect,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said during the online panel briefing organized by the company. Habben Jansen, who gave the odds of such a move at “well above 50%,” said restocking would likely increase container demand by more than 4% next year, compared to 4.7% growth so far this year. Fellow panelist Michael Aldwell, Kuehne + Nagel’s executive vice president for sea logistics, said the recent US government shutdown meant there were no reliable inventory statistics available, although it was assumed inventory levels have fallen to unsustainable levels amid the tariff-driven decline in shipments to the US. Containerized US imports from Asia have fallen from the year’s high of 1.81 million TEUs in July to 1.6 million TEUs in October, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. The potential for the US to become more economically stable next year compared with the upheavals seen this year would “lead to substantial restocking,” Lars Jensen, CEO of consultant Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce contributor, added. Hapag has ‘a plan on the shelf’ for Red Sea transits Turning to the possibility of a resumption of Red Sea transits, Aldwell said aside from port congestion due to vessel bunching, there would also be landside bottlenecks with terminal congestion caused by shortages of trucks and equipment. He said carriers were likely to use both Red Sea and Cape of Good Hope routings in their schedules once it became clear the Red Sea was safe to use again, but there was still a lot of caution before that happened with vessel insurance and crew welfare among the issues that had to be taken into account. Some carriers, including CMA CGM, have made a tentative return to the Red Sea since Houthi rebels announced a ceasefire, with several vessels escorted by naval ships. Habben Jansen said Hapag-Lloyd had no immediate intention to return to Red Sea transits, although it has “a plan on the shelf to follow” once it does decide to shift back. ”The risk of significant congestion in the Mediterranean and North Europe is just huge,” he said of when carriers do return to normal transits. Jensen said assuming the latest ceasefire holds, the period after the Lunar New Year holiday in early March would be the best time to mitigate the impact from the disruption caused by transitioning back to Red Sea transits. He pointed out post-Lunar New Year is typically the slack season, so the combination of lower demand and vessel blankings would reduce congestion. Carriers have used the longer route around southern Africa since late 2023 when the Houthis began their attacks on commercial shipping to protest Israel’s move into Gaza. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com.

US restocking, Red Sea return the two big unknowns for 2026: Hapag briefing

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A series of freight-all-kinds increases since Oct. 1 has held up the spot market on the trade, with carriers aiming to sustain the pricing momentum through Q4 contract talks.</div>

A series of freight-all-kinds increases since Oct. 1 has held up the spot market on the trade, with carriers aiming to sustain the pricing momentum through Q4 contract talks.

<div class="phx-topic">Ocean carriers on the Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean trades will roll out yet another rate increase on Dec. 1 in a bid to extend an upward pricing run that began in October. It is the latest freight-all-kinds (FAK) increase to be announced on the trade lanes that have seen rate hikes every two weeks since Oct. 1. “Asia–Europe and Mediterranean rates are holding steady, supported by aggressive blank sailings during tender season,” Judah Levine, head of research at online freight marketplace Freightos, wrote in a market update this week. "This stability may reflect more aggressive blanked sailing campaigns for these lanes during the current tendering season, with some carriers announcing additional (rate increases) to push prices up to the $3,000-$4,000 per FEU level in December,” Levine said. On Asia-North Europe, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) and Hapag-Lloyd will set their FAK rate at $3,200/FEU from Dec. 1. On Asia-Mediterranean routes, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd have set their FAK rates at $4,000/FEU, while MSC has announced a rate level of $3,950/FEU from Asia to the West Mediterranean and $3,800/FEU to the East Mediterranean. <h3>Spot market momentum </h3>While the fortnightly FAKs have not enabled carriers to achieve all their sought-after increases, the price hikes have seen the spot rate on Asia-North Europe rise steadily from $1,300 per FEU on Oct. 1 to $2,300/FEU this week, according to Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Asia-Mediterranean rates have risen from $1,600/FEU on Oct. 1 to the current level of $3,000/FEU. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="b07fd015-2b73-4e9d-a61e-e44aaa45715e"></dynamic-object></div>With tendering season for long-term rates on the European trades now underway, the higher prices are being supported by significant capacity withdrawals in the form of blank sailings. Carriers on Asia-North Europe have announced November blanks of almost 110,000 TEUs of capacity, with blank sailings of 56,000 TEUs set so far for December, according to Xeneta’s eeSea data. Both those numbers are expected to increase as new capacity continues to steam into service. Asia-North Europe carriers will deploy 1.12 million TEUs of capacity in December, a record that will be beaten in January when 1.17 million TEUs will be in service, according to Xeneta. On Asia-Mediterranean, 100,000 TEUs are set thus far to be blanked in November and 40,000 TEUs in December, with 17,000 TEUs on tap right now for January, according to Xeneta. A record 842,000 TEUs of capacity deployed on the trade in December will be beaten in January when the deployed fleet hits 861,000 TEUs. Whether there will be enough demand to fill ships and hold up rates through December remains to be seen. The latest volume numbers from Container Trades Statistics are for September and showed that demand on Asia-Europe in the first nine months of the year was up 9.8% year over year. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Ocean carriers on the Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean trades will roll out yet another rate increase on Dec. 1 in a bid to extend an upward pricing run that began in October. It is the latest freight-all-kinds (FAK) increase to be announced on the trade lanes that have seen rate hikes every two weeks since Oct. 1. “Asia–Europe and Mediterranean rates are holding steady, supported by aggressive blank sailings during tender season,” Judah Levine, head of research at online freight marketplace Freightos, wrote in a market update this week. "This stability may reflect more aggressive blanked sailing campaigns for these lanes during the current tendering season, with some carriers announcing additional (rate increases) to push prices up to the $3,000-$4,000 per FEU level in December,” Levine said. On Asia-North Europe, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) and Hapag-Lloyd will set their FAK rate at $3,200/FEU from Dec. 1. On Asia-Mediterranean routes, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd have set their FAK rates at $4,000/FEU, while MSC has announced a rate level of $3,950/FEU from Asia to the West Mediterranean and $3,800/FEU to the East Mediterranean. Spot market momentum While the fortnightly FAKs have not enabled carriers to achieve all their sought-after increases, the price hikes have seen the spot rate on Asia-North Europe rise steadily from $1,300 per FEU on Oct. 1 to $2,300/FEU this week, according to Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Asia-Mediterranean rates have risen from $1,600/FEU on Oct. 1 to the current level of $3,000/FEU. With tendering season for long-term rates on the European trades now underway, the higher prices are being supported by significant capacity withdrawals in the form of blank sailings. Carriers on Asia-North Europe have announced November blanks of almost 110,000 TEUs of capacity, with blank sailings of 56,000 TEUs set so far for December, according to Xeneta’s eeSea data. Both those numbers are expected to increase as new capacity continues to steam into service. Asia-North Europe carriers will deploy 1.12 million TEUs of capacity in December, a record that will be beaten in January when 1.17 million TEUs will be in service, according to Xeneta. On Asia-Mediterranean, 100,000 TEUs are set thus far to be blanked in November and 40,000 TEUs in December, with 17,000 TEUs on tap right now for January, according to Xeneta. A record 842,000 TEUs of capacity deployed on the trade in December will be beaten in January when the deployed fleet hits 861,000 TEUs. Whether there will be enough demand to fill ships and hold up rates through December remains to be seen. The latest volume numbers from Container Trades Statistics are for September and showed that demand on Asia-Europe in the first nine months of the year was up 9.8% year over year. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Asia-Europe carriers to levy yet another rate hike on Dec. 1

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">As a result of that heightened overcapacity, spot rates on the trade lane are at their lowest since February, while exports to the US East Coast fell sharply in October.</div>

As a result of that heightened overcapacity, spot rates on the trade lane are at their lowest since February, while exports to the US East Coast fell sharply in October.

<div class="phx-topic">A more settled capacity situation on the India-US East Coast trade due to fewer blank sailings in November has upped the rate pressure on ocean carriers in the market that have been squeezed by US tariffs. With the exception of two calls voided by CMA CGM’s Indamex loop, westbound sailings out of Nhava Sheva/Mundra for the month are known to be on normal schedule across the premier services operated by Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Maersk. As a result of that heightened overcapacity, spot rates on the trade lane are at their lowest since February. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, put India-USEC spot rates at $1,450 per FEU as of Nov. 18, a 9% decline on the week and the lowest reading since $1,330 per FEU on Feb. 21. Local forwarder sources have reported carrier quotes even lower, in the range of $1,200 to $1,300 per FEU for bookings from Nhava Sheva to New York. That’s a drop of $200 to $300 per FEU from the late-October trendline. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="56199e2b-5df4-468f-a149-b18ae7c32e51"></dynamic-object></div>Sources noted that while cargo bookings have weakened, overcapacity is the bigger factor pushing rates lower and prompting carriers to undercut each other in an attempt to keep vessel liftings as close as possible to their declared allocations. “Capacity utilization for USEC sailings out of West India has generally dipped to between 60% to 70% from the normal 80% to 90% level,” a Nhava Sheva-based vessel operations executive at a European liner who didn’t want to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “Most carriers are now weighing cost control measures to tighten operating expenses.” Additionally, carrier sources are pinning their hopes for a rebound in volumes on an early breakthrough in bilateral trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington. But they believe a return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, on which there are some tentative signals, will create a fresh set of capacity problems to solve. “The speed of [Suez] return will determine whether the industry experiences renewed volatility or a more balanced adjustment,” Supal Shah, CEO of Sarjak Container Lines, noted. “A measured, well-sequenced return supports stability across the supply chain.” <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="ae1df54b-4003-46b5-a8c3-e0d35707e941"></dynamic-object></div>Meanwhile, Indian goods exports in October took a severe beating, falling nearly 12% by value year over year, with exports to the US down 7%, according to provisional official data. “The decline in merchandise exports was primarily driven by a sharper fall in several dominant export sectors,” S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, said in a statement. Indian exports to the USEC came in at just under 70,000 TEUs in October, down from 87,970 TEUs in September, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>.</div>

A more settled capacity situation on the India-US East Coast trade due to fewer blank sailings in November has upped the rate pressure on ocean carriers in the market that have been squeezed by US tariffs. With the exception of two calls voided by CMA CGM’s Indamex loop, westbound sailings out of Nhava Sheva/Mundra for the month are known to be on normal schedule across the premier services operated by Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Maersk. As a result of that heightened overcapacity, spot rates on the trade lane are at their lowest since February. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, put India-USEC spot rates at $1,450 per FEU as of Nov. 18, a 9% decline on the week and the lowest reading since $1,330 per FEU on Feb. 21. Local forwarder sources have reported carrier quotes even lower, in the range of $1,200 to $1,300 per FEU for bookings from Nhava Sheva to New York. That’s a drop of $200 to $300 per FEU from the late-October trendline. Sources noted that while cargo bookings have weakened, overcapacity is the bigger factor pushing rates lower and prompting carriers to undercut each other in an attempt to keep vessel liftings as close as possible to their declared allocations. “Capacity utilization for USEC sailings out of West India has generally dipped to between 60% to 70% from the normal 80% to 90% level,” a Nhava Sheva-based vessel operations executive at a European liner who didn’t want to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “Most carriers are now weighing cost control measures to tighten operating expenses.” Additionally, carrier sources are pinning their hopes for a rebound in volumes on an early breakthrough in bilateral trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington. But they believe a return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, on which there are some tentative signals, will create a fresh set of capacity problems to solve. “The speed of [Suez] return will determine whether the industry experiences renewed volatility or a more balanced adjustment,” Supal Shah, CEO of Sarjak Container Lines, noted. “A measured, well-sequenced return supports stability across the supply chain.” Meanwhile, Indian goods exports in October took a severe beating, falling nearly 12% by value year over year, with exports to the US down 7%, according to provisional official data. “The decline in merchandise exports was primarily driven by a sharper fall in several dominant export sectors,” S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, said in a statement. Indian exports to the USEC came in at just under 70,000 TEUs in October, down from 87,970 TEUs in September, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

Steadier capacity in November adds to India-USEC ocean pricing pressure

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carrier’s first direct service to Halifax comes as Canada looks to pivot its trade networks and as low water levels affect Montreal’s container business.</div>

The carrier’s first direct service to Halifax comes as Canada looks to pivot its trade networks and as low water levels affect Montreal’s container business.

<div class="phx-topic">OOCL is adding the Port of Halifax to a trans-Atlantic Mediterranean service, marking the carrier’s first direct service to the port. The new port call comes as Canada looks outside the US for more trade and as low water levels on the St. Lawrence River make Halifax an offtake point for Montreal-bound cargo. OOCL said its West Mediterranean America service from Italy and Spain would add Halifax as the first call before US East Coast ports, noting in a statement the move “unlocks direct access to Montreal and Toronto.” The OOCL service joins three other Mediterranean-North American East Coast services that also call Halifax; this will be the Hong Kong-based carrier’s first service to the port. While Halifax’s overall cargo volumes have yet to approach their 2022 peak, the port has seen some uptick this year. First-half 2025 import volumes are up 13.6% to 131,980 TEUs and export volumes have risen 8.9% to 126,937 TEUs compared to the first half of 2024. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="09c4541c-c611-4969-af40-74647b74b5fd"></dynamic-object></div>Halifax, meanwhile, has been providing relief to the Port of Montreal this year due to navigational challenges on the St. Lawrence Seaway. One portion of Montreal’s harbor has been hovering at about a 17-foot depth since September, according to the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, among the historical lows recorded for the area. “For the carriers, the biggest problem is low water on the Seaway,” Grace Liang, president of OOCL Canada, said at a conference in Toronto last month. “The impact of low water is pretty substantial.” Paul Bird, chief commercial officer of the Montreal Port Authority, said Montreal’s current water levels are part of the La Niña weather cycle that occurs approximately every 12 years. As a result, container ships have to offload cargo prior to entering the Seaway to reduce their draft, which serves as a temporary measure until water levels rise again. “Carriers have to top off either at Saint John or Halifax before they come into Montreal,” Bird said at the Toronto conference. “But there’s a cycle here. We don’t expect these low water levels to return for another 10 or 12 years.” <h3>Canadian ports handled frontloaded imports </h3>Liang said at the conference that Canada’s ports handled frontloaded imports, either from US-bound freight or as inputs for other Canadian goods shipped to the US. But she said Canadian ports are likely to see the same cargo slowdown as US ports in the fourth quarter. “When it comes to demand, it’s affected by the trade wars and tariffs,” Liang said. “We’ve seen a lot of frontloading both in the US and Canada.” In the long term, Canada’s international trade also faces a restructuring that favors enlarged port coverage. Back in March, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada’s traditional reliance on the US export market is now over due to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Carney’s 2025 budget proposes C$5 billion in spending for Transport Canada to develop new trade and infrastructure projects, as well as other funds to help Canadian businesses tap overseas markets. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto: michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

OOCL is adding the Port of Halifax to a trans-Atlantic Mediterranean service, marking the carrier’s first direct service to the port. The new port call comes as Canada looks outside the US for more trade and as low water levels on the St. Lawrence River make Halifax an offtake point for Montreal-bound cargo. OOCL said its West Mediterranean America service from Italy and Spain would add Halifax as the first call before US East Coast ports, noting in a statement the move “unlocks direct access to Montreal and Toronto.” The OOCL service joins three other Mediterranean-North American East Coast services that also call Halifax; this will be the Hong Kong-based carrier’s first service to the port. While Halifax’s overall cargo volumes have yet to approach their 2022 peak, the port has seen some uptick this year. First-half 2025 import volumes are up 13.6% to 131,980 TEUs and export volumes have risen 8.9% to 126,937 TEUs compared to the first half of 2024. Halifax, meanwhile, has been providing relief to the Port of Montreal this year due to navigational challenges on the St. Lawrence Seaway. One portion of Montreal’s harbor has been hovering at about a 17-foot depth since September, according to the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, among the historical lows recorded for the area. “For the carriers, the biggest problem is low water on the Seaway,” Grace Liang, president of OOCL Canada, said at a conference in Toronto last month. “The impact of low water is pretty substantial.” Paul Bird, chief commercial officer of the Montreal Port Authority, said Montreal’s current water levels are part of the La Niña weather cycle that occurs approximately every 12 years. As a result, container ships have to offload cargo prior to entering the Seaway to reduce their draft, which serves as a temporary measure until water levels rise again. “Carriers have to top off either at Saint John or Halifax before they come into Montreal,” Bird said at the Toronto conference. “But there’s a cycle here. We don’t expect these low water levels to return for another 10 or 12 years.” Canadian ports handled frontloaded imports Liang said at the conference that Canada’s ports handled frontloaded imports, either from US-bound freight or as inputs for other Canadian goods shipped to the US. But she said Canadian ports are likely to see the same cargo slowdown as US ports in the fourth quarter. “When it comes to demand, it’s affected by the trade wars and tariffs,” Liang said. “We’ve seen a lot of frontloading both in the US and Canada.” In the long term, Canada’s international trade also faces a restructuring that favors enlarged port coverage. Back in March, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada’s traditional reliance on the US export market is now over due to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Carney’s 2025 budget proposes C$5 billion in spending for Transport Canada to develop new trade and infrastructure projects, as well as other funds to help Canadian businesses tap overseas markets. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

OOCL adds Halifax call to trans-Atlantic Med service

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The consortium of nine liner carriers has launched its first product to facilitate the adoption of electronic bills of lading and other digital standards it is developing.</div>

The consortium of nine liner carriers has launched its first product to facilitate the adoption of electronic bills of lading and other digital standards it is developing.

<div class="phx-topic">The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has launched an identity management tool aimed at helping companies involved in global shipping and international trade perform internal compliance checks and vet prospective business partners. The product, called Identity Exchange, expands the reach of the DCSA, a nonprofit consortium of nine container lines whose broader goal is to standardize and digitize the shipping industry. Niels Nuyens, DCSA’s chief product officer, told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday the new product was developed over the past 12 to 15 months as the group was doing work to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/key-supply-chain-stakeholders-commit-to-electronic-bills-of-lading-5226286">advance electronic bill of lading</a> (eBL) adoption among members and their customers. “As part of shipping and international trade, it’s necessary to be 100% sure about who you’re working with,” Nuyens said. “We learned it’s being done differently across different organizations and felt there was a way to provide better onboarding and compliance processes.” Electronic bill of lading adoption is contingent on making the issuing and transmitting of electronic documents more streamlined, and that quickly led to a discussion around ensuring that the eBL was being submitted to a trusted party. Bills of lading convey titles to recipients and have associated banking implications for suppliers using letters of credit to fund the manufacturing and transportation of goods. Those conversations with members, forwarders and shippers led DCSA to determine there was no unified identity management process to ensure that customers or partners were compliant with internal controls. The means of checking potential business partners are sometimes sophisticated, involving an identity management system and local teams that can verify entities, and sometimes rudimentary, involving nothing more than a Google search of a prospective partner or customer. The demand for vetting is a result of companies’ internal compliance processes, which, in turn, are often driven by customs or banking regulatory mandates, depending on the industry or country. The patchwork of those requirements creates an uneven landscape where some companies are screening for things such as restricted entities and others lack the means to do so. <h3>Product development part of DCSA strategy </h3>The development of a product is a bit of a new direction for DCSA, which has to this point focused on building industry standards for processes such as tracking and tracing, eBLs, and just-in-time port calls. More recently, the group has <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/dcsa-turns-to-industry-partners-to-drive-shipping-standards-adoption-6070237">built a partnership network</a> of terminals, feeders, freight forwarders, shippers, and tech providers to support the adoption of standards and contribute to what DCSA develops. Nuyens said product development is the third pillar in DCSA’s strategy. The identity product, unlike everything else DCSA has developed to date, is not free to use. Companies wanting to use the exchange pay for a certain number of lookups, with the cost-per-lookup going down based on usage. Nuyens said the revenue from the Identity Exchange will be funneled into DCSA’s other initiatives to promote shipping industry standards. More than 150 early users completed over 30,000 identity checks through Identity Exchange, DCSA said in a statement, with match rates above 95% and reports of less manual review time and stronger data accuracy. DCSA called the development of its first product a move into “digital infrastructure that strengthens trust across the container shipping industry.” The product is intended to be used in any business-to-business situation in shipping or trade, Nuyens said. The ocean carrier members of DCSA are Mediterranean Shipping Co., Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, CMA CGM, Evergreen, HMM, Yang Ming, Zim Integrated Shipping Services and PIL. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has launched an identity management tool aimed at helping companies involved in global shipping and international trade perform internal compliance checks and vet prospective business partners. The product, called Identity Exchange, expands the reach of the DCSA, a nonprofit consortium of nine container lines whose broader goal is to standardize and digitize the shipping industry. Niels Nuyens, DCSA’s chief product officer, told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday the new product was developed over the past 12 to 15 months as the group was doing work to advance electronic bill of lading (eBL) adoption among members and their customers. “As part of shipping and international trade, it’s necessary to be 100% sure about who you’re working with,” Nuyens said. “We learned it’s being done differently across different organizations and felt there was a way to provide better onboarding and compliance processes.” Electronic bill of lading adoption is contingent on making the issuing and transmitting of electronic documents more streamlined, and that quickly led to a discussion around ensuring that the eBL was being submitted to a trusted party. Bills of lading convey titles to recipients and have associated banking implications for suppliers using letters of credit to fund the manufacturing and transportation of goods. Those conversations with members, forwarders and shippers led DCSA to determine there was no unified identity management process to ensure that customers or partners were compliant with internal controls. The means of checking potential business partners are sometimes sophisticated, involving an identity management system and local teams that can verify entities, and sometimes rudimentary, involving nothing more than a Google search of a prospective partner or customer. The demand for vetting is a result of companies’ internal compliance processes, which, in turn, are often driven by customs or banking regulatory mandates, depending on the industry or country. The patchwork of those requirements creates an uneven landscape where some companies are screening for things such as restricted entities and others lack the means to do so. Product development part of DCSA strategy The development of a product is a bit of a new direction for DCSA, which has to this point focused on building industry standards for processes such as tracking and tracing, eBLs, and just-in-time port calls. More recently, the group has built a partnership network of terminals, feeders, freight forwarders, shippers, and tech providers to support the adoption of standards and contribute to what DCSA develops. Nuyens said product development is the third pillar in DCSA’s strategy. The identity product, unlike everything else DCSA has developed to date, is not free to use. Companies wanting to use the exchange pay for a certain number of lookups, with the cost-per-lookup going down based on usage. Nuyens said the revenue from the Identity Exchange will be funneled into DCSA’s other initiatives to promote shipping industry standards. More than 150 early users completed over 30,000 identity checks through Identity Exchange, DCSA said in a statement, with match rates above 95% and reports of less manual review time and stronger data accuracy. DCSA called the development of its first product a move into “digital infrastructure that strengthens trust across the container shipping industry.” The product is intended to be used in any business-to-business situation in shipping or trade, Nuyens said. The ocean carrier members of DCSA are Mediterranean Shipping Co., Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, CMA CGM, Evergreen, HMM, Yang Ming, Zim Integrated Shipping Services and PIL. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

DCSA broadens reach with identity exchange for shipping industry

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

In 1995, we began operations with a clear vision: to grow alongside Mexico and connect the world through our terminals. Our priority has always been to deliver excellence in service, foster economic development, and strengthen our communities. We firmly believe that progress is not only measured in tons of cargo moved, but in the opportunities we create. _______________________________________________________________ This year marks a significant milestone: SSA Marine Mexico celebrates 30 years of presence in the country, having established itself from day one as the leading port operator nationwide. Over the past three decades, we have built a legacy of reliability, innovation, and commitment to Mexico’s growth. Our journey has been defined by continuous evolution and a steadfast dedication to our mission. SSA Marine México currently operates in six of the country’s most important ports: Cozumel, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Progreso, Tuxpan, and Veracruz. Additionally, we have signed a concession to operate a new multipurpose terminal in Guaymas, Sonora, expanding our footprint to the north of the country. We serve a wide range of segments including containers, general cargo, automobiles, cruise ships, hydrocarbons, and asphalt. As part of this ongoing commitment, SSA Marine Mexico continues to strengthen its infrastructure and capabilities. International trade remains a key driver of global economic growth, and we are proud to support this momentum. Through our continuous improvement strategy, we invest in cutting-edge technology and equipment to deliver more efficient and competitive services, contributing to the success of Mexican businesses. •	Manzanillo, Colima- Specialized Container Terminal I: On October 13, we celebrated the arrival of two new STS (Ship To Shore) Super Post Panamax dockside cranes. This $21.2 million USD investment significantly boosts our operational capacity, streamlining cargo reception and delivery processes. In line with our modernization efforts, we will also retire four of our oldest cranes, paving the way for a more sustainable and technologically advanced fleet that meets the evolving demands of international trade. With these upgrades, SSA Marine México now operates a total of 16 cranes along our 1,350-meter dock, reaffirming our position as a national benchmark in port <span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-4_3 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-large" data-figure-size="large" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="4:3"><img src="/content-assets/1760982635607_Manzanillo.jpg" alt="Image provided by SSA Marine" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"> •	As for the Multipurpose Terminal and Specialized Facility, also in Manzanillo, Colima, improvement and conditioning works are planned, along with the acquisition of four E-RTG (Electric Rubber-Tyred Gantry) cranes to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability. •	At our Automobile and General Cargo Terminal in the port of Veracruz, we continue to lead with specialized value-added services that support our clients’ growth. Recent investments include a new washing cabin and a general cargo warehouse, increasing indoor storage capacity by 67%. •	Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan – Specialized Automobile Terminal: we are working on the development of an additional 4-hectare storage space within our bonded area and a 10-hectare Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC). These enhancements, along with ongoing personnel and system improvements, will reinforce our leadership in automotive handling across the Mexican Pacific coast.<span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-4_3 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-large" data-figure-size="large" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="4:3"><img src="/content-assets/1760982742240_Lazaro.jpg" alt="Image provided by SSA Marine" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"> Through these strategic investments, SSA Marine Mexico reaffirms its commitment to the sustained growth of Mexico’s foreign trade. By expanding capacity, modernizing infrastructure, and diversifying services, we continue to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in global logistics. Today, we celebrate three decades of dedication, innovation, and leadership, with deep gratitude to our employees, clients, and partners for being part of this incredible journey. LINK: https://www.ssamarine.mx/<span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-16_9 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-small" data-figure-size="small" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="16:9"><img src="/content-assets/1760982787360_SSA%20Marine%20Mexico%20logo%20150pxW.png" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit">

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SSA Marine Mexico: 30 years growing together.

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