<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Ocean Alliance members are shifting post-Panamax ships away from the trans-Pacific and Asia–Europe trades to the trans-Atlantic amid buoyant demand and rates. 
 
 </div>

Ocean Alliance members are shifting post-Panamax ships away from the trans-Pacific and Asia–Europe trades to the trans-Atlantic amid buoyant demand and rates.

3685616_FI.jpg

<div>As global demand for Asian exports weakens, container carrier members of the Ocean Alliance are shifting post-Panamax ships from the trans-Pacific and Asia–Europe trades to the trans-Atlantic. Although adding capacity will put downward pressure on rates, increasing trade between the US and Europe should buoy the trans-Atlantic market.Ocean Alliance’s “Liberty Bridge” service from Europe to the US has gone from a Panamax-size service of 8,500 TEU to a post-Panamax service of about 12,000 TEU with new ships being rotated into the service.In December, CMA CGM will replace two Panamax ships with two 11,388 TEU ships, the Columbia and Cassiopeia, according...

As global demand for Asian exports weakens, container carrier members of the Ocean Alliance are shifting post-Panamax ships from the trans-Pacific and Asia–Europe trades to the trans-Atlantic. Although adding capacity will put downward pressure on rates, increasing trade between the US and Europe should buoy the trans-Atlantic market. Ocean Alliance’s “Liberty Bridge” service from Europe to the US has gone from a Panamax-size service of 8,500 TEU to a post-Panamax service of about 12,000 TEU with new ships being rotated into the service. In December, CMA CGM will replace two Panamax ships with two 11,388 TEU ships, the Columbia and Cassiopeia, according to the ocean carrier’s latest schedule The Columbia was in the Asia–Mediterranean trade lane as of its last departure from China in mid-August, according to Sea-Web, a sister product of JOC.com within S&P Global. In the interim, it was deployed between the Mediterranean and Brazil, Sea-Web data show. The Cassiopeia had been operating in the Asia–US West Coast trade until its late September departure from Singapore to the US East Coast. Likewise, Evergreen Marine will rotate the 13,808 TEU Tampa Triumph into Liberty Bridge as of an early January departure from the United Kingdom, making it the largest vessel deployed in the Europe–US East Coast trade, according to Alphaliner. The ship, which made its last departure from China’s Yantian port in early November, will replace the 8,542 TEU Ever Lucky. Cosco Shipping, as well, rotated in three ships of approximately 13,000 TEU capacity into the Liberty Bridge service over October and November, just after they last departed Asia. The ships replace 8,500 TEU capacity vessels that Cosco had deployed. Effective capacity re-released The shift of larger ships into the trans-Atlantic trade coincided with a severe slowdown in the trans-Pacific market, Lars Jensen, CEO of consultancy Vespucci Maritime and a JOC analyst, said during a Journal of Commerce webcast Thursday. At the same time, more ships became available as port congestion decreased throughout 2022, Jensen said, adding that fewer ships sitting at anchor re-released 7 percent additional supply into the market. “Given that this is what is soaking up capacity — vessels sitting in a queue — we see a lot of capacity come back at the same time as we see demand go into a collapse,” Jensen said. With vessel-operating expenses much higher due to inflation, Jensen said carriers are at breakeven or losses on most trades from Asia now as rates fall below pre-pandemic levels. Spot rates on the trans-Atlantic, however, have been essentially flat in 2022, according to benchmarking service Xeneta. The average westbound trans-Atlantic spot rate of $7,148 per FEU at the start of December was approximately the same at the beginning of the year. Jensen said the trans-Atlantic is still relatively tight due to delays at US East Coast ports caused in part by an influx of cargo being diverted from West Coast ports . As of Dec. 2, there were 22 ships at anchor waiting for a berth at the Port of Savannah. The Port of New York and New Jersey reported four ships at anchor. But as those issues ease, Jensen said it would be “only a matter of time” before trans-Atlantic rates follow suit. “As long as we have challenges [on the US East Coast], that tends to hold a floor under what’s going to happen on the trans-Atlantic,” Jensen said. “But at some point, the trans-Atlantic is going to follow exactly the same path as you see in Asia–Europe or the trans-Pacific. That is only a matter of time, we’re talking weeks.” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, told JOC.com in a Nov. 11 interview that macroeconomic factors are buoying the trans-Atlantic trade. The euro is trading at close to the US dollar, a level not seen since 2002, which favors European exporters, Habben Jansen said. In addition, diversification of sourcing away from China is boosting demand for good from countries such as Turkey and India that are transshipped through Europe. Total US imports from Europe ticked up 2.4 percent year over year to just over 2 million TEU in the first ten months of 2022, according to PIERS, also a sister product of JOC.com. During the comparable 2021 period, US imports from Europe rose 6.7 percent from 2020. Along with major carriers adding capacity, niche ocean carriers are starting to add new capacity in the trans-Atlantic in response to what they see as still healthy demand. “That helps have a positive effect on the amount of volume that needs to be moved across the Atlantic, and I think that's the main reason why the market is holding up reasonably well,” Habben Jansen said. Moreover, US East Coast ports are likely to see bouts of episodic congestion continue as they handle both trans-Atlantic volumes and the ongoing diversions from West Coast ports. That should help keep capacity tight in the trans-Atlantic trade, Habben Jansen said. “I think that you're fairly close to maximum capacity that they can handle, and it's also one of the few places where you still see some congestion,” Habben Jansen said of US East Coast. “There's not that much room — actually — to put more in. We've also been trying to move goods across the Atlantic, but the real ability to do that is somewhat limited.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @michael_angell .

Container lines

Ocean Alliance upsizes trans-Atlantic route amid rate strength

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Eight straight months of double-digit volume growth in global air freight markets has kept freighters full and flying at peak utilization, and continued demand is expected to outstrip available capacity through Q4 and beyond. </div>

Eight straight months of double-digit volume growth in global air freight markets has kept freighters full and flying at peak utilization, and continued demand is expected to outstrip available capacity through Q4 and beyond.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Liege, Belgium — The air cargo industry is flying headlong into its strongest ever peak season as booming e-commerce demand will combine with online shopping promotions this fall and rising volume of more traditional air freight, executives told a conference here. But at the same time, the industry was facing a worsening supply-demand imbalance that would place severe constraints on available capacity and add pricing pressure to already elevated rate levels. “Brace for impact,” was the blunt warning to shippers and forwarders from Peter Scholten, CCO of freighter operator Air One Aviation, at the EU Cross-Border E-Commerce Forum at Liege Airport in Belgium Tuesday. “We are heading for the highest peak seasons in history.” The global air cargo market has seen eight straight months of double-digit growth as of August, with a 14% increase in demand and only 7% capacity growth over that period, Ryan Keyrouse, CEO of market intelligence consultancy Rotate, told the forum. With volume this year expected to rise 11% to 12% year over year, he estimated volume would grow a further 2% to 7% in 2025, with the high demand taking the air freight industry deep into “unchartered territory.” “If e-commerce growth continues aggressively, we are going to be in an unprecedented state,” Keyrouse said. “The highest two-year growth average we’ve had in recent decades.” While the demand has enabled freighter operators to benefit from rising rate levels, the robust market growth is being constrained by a lack of capacity. Data reported by rate benchmarking platform Xeneta show load factors on Asia-North America flights are at 87%, with both Asia-Europe and Asia-Middle East flights at 86%, which is effectively full for headhaul routes. Aircraft are also flying at their peak utilization, with Rotate data for August showing global freighter fleets operating at up to 15 hours a day, just below pandemic flying times. Keyrouse said this meant any relief was “not going to come from load factors and it’s not going to come from fleet utilization.” The index of outbound routes from Hong Kong edged up a further 0.2% this week, led by higher rates to North America that took the year over year gain to 21.1%, according to the Baltic Air Index. Outbound Shanghai rates edged down 1.8% week over week, but the rate is up 30% compared with last year. <h3>Forwarders protecting ‘bread and butter’ customers </h3>Richard Broekman, CCO and head of sustainability at freighter operator Atlas Air, said he did not believe shippers were prepared for the significant supply-demand imbalance that lay ahead. “The peak is going to be very strong and driven by a real lack of capacity and a lot of delays of deliveries of new freighters that were supposed to be flying already but are just not there yet,” Broekman told the forum. Forwarders are already scrambling to lock in enough capacity for their customers through the fourth quarter, which is becoming increasingly difficult as e-commerce swallows up much of the available space out of Asia. Asok Kumar, head of global air freight at forwarder DB Schenker, noted that as significant as the e-commerce volume is, it is not something that benefitted global forwarders and typically represented single-digit percentages of their annual tonnage. Kumar noted global e-commerce in 2022 was about 1.5 million tons of the total air freight market of 22 million tons. The estimate for 2025 is that e-commerce will be 5.2 million tons of a market that will be 27 million tons, showing that most of the growth is from e-commerce rather than the traditional air freight market. “We have our regular bread and butter customers that are very concerned about this trend, and we need to know how we cater to the entire air freight industry that needs support,” Kumar told the forum. “Normal demand in the market for the phones, the AI enabled devices, the technology, automotive movements, for example,” he added. “We have commitments to our existing customers that we need to protect, and we will do that.” Stefan Krikken, head of global air freight at DSV, said aside from during COVID-19, the market “has never been as constrained, as difficult as it is right now,” in his 15 years in the business. ”COVID was on a different level, but I think the peak that we’re heading into is going to be unprecedented,” he told the forum. “Going into the peak season we will also have the e-commerce days — be it Black Friday or Singles Day,” Krikken said. “There are several of these events that will really drive the e-commerce boom.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Liege, Belgium — The air cargo industry is flying headlong into its strongest ever peak season as booming e-commerce demand will combine with online shopping promotions this fall and rising volume of more traditional air freight, executives told a conference here. But at the same time, the industry was facing a worsening supply-demand imbalance that would place severe constraints on available capacity and add pricing pressure to already elevated rate levels. “Brace for impact,” was the blunt warning to shippers and forwarders from Peter Scholten, CCO of freighter operator Air One Aviation, at the EU Cross-Border E-Commerce Forum at Liege Airport in Belgium Tuesday. “We are heading for the highest peak seasons in history.” The global air cargo market has seen eight straight months of double-digit growth as of August, with a 14% increase in demand and only 7% capacity growth over that period, Ryan Keyrouse, CEO of market intelligence consultancy Rotate, told the forum. With volume this year expected to rise 11% to 12% year over year, he estimated volume would grow a further 2% to 7% in 2025, with the high demand taking the air freight industry deep into “unchartered territory.” “If e-commerce growth continues aggressively, we are going to be in an unprecedented state,” Keyrouse said. “The highest two-year growth average we’ve had in recent decades.” While the demand has enabled freighter operators to benefit from rising rate levels, the robust market growth is being constrained by a lack of capacity. Data reported by rate benchmarking platform Xeneta show load factors on Asia-North America flights are at 87%, with both Asia-Europe and Asia-Middle East flights at 86%, which is effectively full for headhaul routes. Aircraft are also flying at their peak utilization, with Rotate data for August showing global freighter fleets operating at up to 15 hours a day, just below pandemic flying times. Keyrouse said this meant any relief was “not going to come from load factors and it’s not going to come from fleet utilization.” The index of outbound routes from Hong Kong edged up a further 0.2% this week, led by higher rates to North America that took the year over year gain to 21.1%, according to the Baltic Air Index. Outbound Shanghai rates edged down 1.8% week over week, but the rate is up 30% compared with last year. Forwarders protecting ‘bread and butter’ customers Richard Broekman, CCO and head of sustainability at freighter operator Atlas Air, said he did not believe shippers were prepared for the significant supply-demand imbalance that lay ahead. “The peak is going to be very strong and driven by a real lack of capacity and a lot of delays of deliveries of new freighters that were supposed to be flying already but are just not there yet,” Broekman told the forum. Forwarders are already scrambling to lock in enough capacity for their customers through the fourth quarter, which is becoming increasingly difficult as e-commerce swallows up much of the available space out of Asia. Asok Kumar, head of global air freight at forwarder DB Schenker, noted that as significant as the e-commerce volume is, it is not something that benefitted global forwarders and typically represented single-digit percentages of their annual tonnage. Kumar noted global e-commerce in 2022 was about 1.5 million tons of the total air freight market of 22 million tons. The estimate for 2025 is that e-commerce will be 5.2 million tons of a market that will be 27 million tons, showing that most of the growth is from e-commerce rather than the traditional air freight market. “We have our regular bread and butter customers that are very concerned about this trend, and we need to know how we cater to the entire air freight industry that needs support,” Kumar told the forum. “Normal demand in the market for the phones, the AI enabled devices, the technology, automotive movements, for example,” he added. “We have commitments to our existing customers that we need to protect, and we will do that.” Stefan Krikken, head of global air freight at DSV, said aside from during COVID-19, the market “has never been as constrained, as difficult as it is right now,” in his 15 years in the business. ”COVID was on a different level, but I think the peak that we’re heading into is going to be unprecedented,” he told the forum. “Going into the peak season we will also have the e-commerce days — be it Black Friday or Singles Day,” Krikken said. “There are several of these events that will really drive the e-commerce boom.” Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Air Cargo Forwarder News

Air Cargo Carriers News

Air Cargo

‘Brace for impact’ warning as air cargo heads into historic peak season

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">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%. </div>

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%.

<div class="phx-topic">US retailers have significantly upgraded their forecast for US imports in September as shippers look to frontload cargo ahead of a threatened strike on Oct. 1 by dockworkers along the East and Gulf coasts. And while August’s numbers from the Global Port Tracker (GPT) are not yet final, retailers project that US imports last month came in at 2.37 million TEUs, up almost 21% year over year and the highest since the record of 2.4 million TEUs in May 2022. GPT, published by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, now projects US imports this month will hit 2.31 million TEUs, up 14% from the same month one year ago. Last month’s GPT expected the year-over-year increase for September to be 6.5%. “Many retailers have brought cargo in early and shifted to alternate ports as a precaution, but it is vital that labor and management at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports actually sit down at the negotiating table and bargain in good faith for a new contract so we can avoid a disruption of any kind when their contract expires,” Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, said in a statement Monday. Ocean carriers and marine terminal <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/port-employers-urge-ila-to-return-to-contract-talks-5723976">operators have called on the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) to reopen contract talks</a>, but acknowledged pessimism about avoiding a shutdown on Oct. 1 that would cripple ports along the East and Gulf coasts. The current ILA contract expires Sept. 30. “A strike would be another blow to the supply chain as it continues to face challenges, and to the nation’s economy at a time when inflation is finally coming down and the Fed is poised to lower interest rates,” Gold said. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="57ed83f5-70e1-4b4d-92e1-7697aa830148"></dynamic-object></div>The big upgrade for September’s imports came as fresh data from PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, showed that US imports from Asia in August came in at 1.71 million TEUs, down slightly from July but still up 18.5% year over year. West Coast import volumes from Asia were up more than 22.2% through the first eight months of 2024, while volumes into the East Coast grew 9.8% and Gulf imports rose 8.3%. If the GPT forecasts prove correct, it will mean that 2024 will have had seven consecutive months of import levels at or above 2 million TEUs — the longest such stretch since a 19-month period during the height of the pandemic. The projections would bring total US imports for 2024 to just under 25 million TEUs, a 12.3% increase from 2023. While demand has been resilient, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/carriers-to-deploy-extra-loaders-to-los-angeles-long-beach-amid-import-surge-5714861">new capacity deployments</a> have pulled down spot rates to the West Coast but have since leveled. Comparatively, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/east-coast-spot-rates-plunge-as-peak-season-imports-shift-to-west-coast-5723993">East Coast spot rates plunged faster than usual on the trade lane.</a>Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:laura.robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

US retailers have significantly upgraded their forecast for US imports in September as shippers look to frontload cargo ahead of a threatened strike on Oct. 1 by dockworkers along the East and Gulf coasts. And while August’s numbers from the Global Port Tracker (GPT) are not yet final, retailers project that US imports last month came in at 2.37 million TEUs, up almost 21% year over year and the highest since the record of 2.4 million TEUs in May 2022. GPT, published by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, now projects US imports this month will hit 2.31 million TEUs, up 14% from the same month one year ago. Last month’s GPT expected the year-over-year increase for September to be 6.5%. “Many retailers have brought cargo in early and shifted to alternate ports as a precaution, but it is vital that labor and management at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports actually sit down at the negotiating table and bargain in good faith for a new contract so we can avoid a disruption of any kind when their contract expires,” Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, said in a statement Monday. Ocean carriers and marine terminal operators have called on the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) to reopen contract talks , but acknowledged pessimism about avoiding a shutdown on Oct. 1 that would cripple ports along the East and Gulf coasts. The current ILA contract expires Sept. 30. “A strike would be another blow to the supply chain as it continues to face challenges, and to the nation’s economy at a time when inflation is finally coming down and the Fed is poised to lower interest rates,” Gold said. The big upgrade for September’s imports came as fresh data from PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, showed that US imports from Asia in August came in at 1.71 million TEUs, down slightly from July but still up 18.5% year over year. West Coast import volumes from Asia were up more than 22.2% through the first eight months of 2024, while volumes into the East Coast grew 9.8% and Gulf imports rose 8.3%. If the GPT forecasts prove correct, it will mean that 2024 will have had seven consecutive months of import levels at or above 2 million TEUs — the longest such stretch since a 19-month period during the height of the pandemic. The projections would bring total US imports for 2024 to just under 25 million TEUs, a 12.3% increase from 2023. While demand has been resilient, new capacity deployments have pulled down spot rates to the West Coast but have since leveled. Comparatively, East Coast spot rates plunged faster than usual on the trade lane. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

Port News

Trans-Pacific

Maritime

US retailers give big upgrade to September import forecast amid strike threat

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">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.</div>

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.

<div class="phx-topic">Ports in Asia are among the winners, regaining direct calls on several services, in the Gemini Cooperation’s updated service network released Tuesday that offers shippers alternative routings via the Cape of Good Hope and the Suez Canal. The new network was announced <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/fmc-wont-block-gemini-alliance-but-vows-tight-monitoring-5724939">a day after the US Federal Maritime Commission said the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd partnership agreement took effect</a> following a lengthy assessment period. The revised Gemini network also came <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/msc-strikes-asia-europe-slot-share-with-former-thea-members-5723585">a day after the new Premier Alliance created by soon-to-be former THE Alliance carriers</a>, plus Mediterranean Shipping Co. as a slot charter partner, announced its February 2025 service schedule. That schedule also gave Suez and southern Africa routings, but focused on direct port-to-port calls instead of Gemini’s hub-and-spoke approach. Gemini said Tuesday it will announce next month whether the Cape of Good Hope or Suez Canal option would be used when the alliance is formally launched next February. The carriers said the alternative Cape of Good Hope network around southern Africa was released “due to the ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea.” The Suez Canal-based network would provide 27 mainline and 30 shuttle services using a combined fleet of 300 ships totaling 3.4 million TEUs on seven east-west trades covering Asia-US, Asia-North Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Asia-Middle East, Middle East-India, Europe and the trans-Atlantic. By comparison, the Cape of Good Hope network covers the same seven trades but involves 341 ships totaling 3.7 million TEUs deployed on 29 mainline and 30 shuttle services. The extra vessels deployed on the southern Africa routing provide “an indication of the capacity absorption from the Red Sea crisis,” Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, said in a LinkedIn post Tuesday. Jensen pointed out the Suez network has eight Asia-Europe services, whereas the Cape of Good Hope only has seven services, while the Suez routing has 10 Pacific services, one more than the Cape network. Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen in August confirmed that tweaks were being made to the Gemini service network for “operational reasons.” <h3>Busan, Vung Tau regain hub status </h3>South Korea’s Busan and Vung Tau in southern Vietnam are the main beneficiaries in the new schedules, having won back hub status after being relegated to largely feeder ports when Gemini released its initial network last January. Busan has been included among the direct calls in revised schedules for six trans-Pacific services on both the Suez Canal and Cape of Good Hope options. Vung Tau has been added to three mainline trans-Pacific services via the Suez Canal, but just two on those operating via the Cape of Good Hope. But even in the new Gemini network, Busan will still lose all its existing mainline calls by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd on Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean services, instead relying on feeder services to Shanghai and Tanjung Pelepas via Qingdao. Another significant change is that Hong Kong has now been dropped completely from the Gemini network in the revised plan after it was downgraded to a feeder port in the January schedule. Instead, shippers will have to truck or barge cargo independently of the Gemini carriers if they want to connect with their services at Yantian. Hutchison Port Holdings has already anticipated a loss of cargo through Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung container terminals when some of Maersk’s and Hapag-Lloyd’s throughput currently handled in Hong Kong will shift to Yantian after the Gemini partnership starts. ”The clear winner from the announced new networks appears to be the shippers,” Jensen said in his LinkedIn post. “The networks are quite different in their design, hence offering a more diverse range of products to choose from.” But Peter Sand, chief analyst for rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, said carriers are likely more focused on efficiencies. ”While we hope for this to improve the service offerings to customers, we also realize that the carriers are optimizing their networks to operational fleet efficiency more than anything else,” Sand told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday. ”As I have said numerous times, each carrier has to focus on its particular strengths because they can’t service everyone to the extent that shippers require to be treated,” he added. “Even MSC must find partners.” “Reliability, connectivity and sustainability are the keywords in the networks we are presenting today, and we are pleased that we now can give our customers full transparency about how we will deliver a best-in-class ocean network so they can begin planning despite a highly dynamic situation,” Habben Jansen said in a statement announcing the updated network Tuesday. He previously said Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk would start selling space on the Gemini network this month and start taking bookings from December ahead of Gemini’s February launch. Habben Jansen expected the transition of vessels and ships from the Gemini carriers’ existing commitments with THE Alliance and 2M Alliance to take about three months. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said Gemini’s schedule reliability target remains unchanged at 90% irrespective of which network is phased in from February. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Ports in Asia are among the winners, regaining direct calls on several services, in the Gemini Cooperation’s updated service network released Tuesday that offers shippers alternative routings via the Cape of Good Hope and the Suez Canal. The new network was announced a day after the US Federal Maritime Commission said the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd partnership agreement took effect following a lengthy assessment period. The revised Gemini network also came a day after the new Premier Alliance created by soon-to-be former THE Alliance carriers , plus Mediterranean Shipping Co. as a slot charter partner, announced its February 2025 service schedule. That schedule also gave Suez and southern Africa routings, but focused on direct port-to-port calls instead of Gemini’s hub-and-spoke approach. Gemini said Tuesday it will announce next month whether the Cape of Good Hope or Suez Canal option would be used when the alliance is formally launched next February. The carriers said the alternative Cape of Good Hope network around southern Africa was released “due to the ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea.” The Suez Canal-based network would provide 27 mainline and 30 shuttle services using a combined fleet of 300 ships totaling 3.4 million TEUs on seven east-west trades covering Asia-US, Asia-North Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Asia-Middle East, Middle East-India, Europe and the trans-Atlantic. By comparison, the Cape of Good Hope network covers the same seven trades but involves 341 ships totaling 3.7 million TEUs deployed on 29 mainline and 30 shuttle services. The extra vessels deployed on the southern Africa routing provide “an indication of the capacity absorption from the Red Sea crisis,” Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, said in a LinkedIn post Tuesday. Jensen pointed out the Suez network has eight Asia-Europe services, whereas the Cape of Good Hope only has seven services, while the Suez routing has 10 Pacific services, one more than the Cape network. Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen in August confirmed that tweaks were being made to the Gemini service network for “operational reasons.” Busan, Vung Tau regain hub status South Korea’s Busan and Vung Tau in southern Vietnam are the main beneficiaries in the new schedules, having won back hub status after being relegated to largely feeder ports when Gemini released its initial network last January. Busan has been included among the direct calls in revised schedules for six trans-Pacific services on both the Suez Canal and Cape of Good Hope options. Vung Tau has been added to three mainline trans-Pacific services via the Suez Canal, but just two on those operating via the Cape of Good Hope. But even in the new Gemini network, Busan will still lose all its existing mainline calls by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd on Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean services, instead relying on feeder services to Shanghai and Tanjung Pelepas via Qingdao. Another significant change is that Hong Kong has now been dropped completely from the Gemini network in the revised plan after it was downgraded to a feeder port in the January schedule. Instead, shippers will have to truck or barge cargo independently of the Gemini carriers if they want to connect with their services at Yantian. Hutchison Port Holdings has already anticipated a loss of cargo through Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung container terminals when some of Maersk’s and Hapag-Lloyd’s throughput currently handled in Hong Kong will shift to Yantian after the Gemini partnership starts. ”The clear winner from the announced new networks appears to be the shippers,” Jensen said in his LinkedIn post. “The networks are quite different in their design, hence offering a more diverse range of products to choose from.” But Peter Sand, chief analyst for rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, said carriers are likely more focused on efficiencies. ”While we hope for this to improve the service offerings to customers, we also realize that the carriers are optimizing their networks to operational fleet efficiency more than anything else,” Sand told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday. ”As I have said numerous times, each carrier has to focus on its particular strengths because they can’t service everyone to the extent that shippers require to be treated,” he added. “Even MSC must find partners.” “Reliability, connectivity and sustainability are the keywords in the networks we are presenting today, and we are pleased that we now can give our customers full transparency about how we will deliver a best-in-class ocean network so they can begin planning despite a highly dynamic situation,” Habben Jansen said in a statement announcing the updated network Tuesday. He previously said Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk would start selling space on the Gemini network this month and start taking bookings from December ahead of Gemini’s February launch. Habben Jansen expected the transition of vessels and ships from the Gemini carriers’ existing commitments with THE Alliance and 2M Alliance to take about three months. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said Gemini’s schedule reliability target remains unchanged at 90% irrespective of which network is phased in from February. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Asian ports at the fore in updated Gemini alliance network schedule

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">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.</div>

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.

<div class="phx-topic">The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has signed off on the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd vessel-sharing alliance that will start early next year, but the agency’s chief warned the ocean carriers they will be watched for how they treat US shippers. The FMC said Monday it will not seek to block Gemini, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/maersk-hapag-lloyd-launch-new-gemini-cooperation-partnership-5225857">Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s new vessel-sharing agreement for trades between the US, Asia, Europe and the Middle East</a>, allowing the agreement to go into immediate effect after its filing with the FMC. Gemini’s actual services are set to debut in February 2025. The FMC asked the two companies in July to provide extra details about how Gemini would work due to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/fmc-wants-maersk-hapag-lloyd-to-provide-more-details-on-gemini-alliance-5192298">concerns about the anti-competitive effect of the second- and fifth-largest ocean carriers by capacity pooling their vessels</a>. While it found no anti-competitive issues, the FMC said Gemini “will be subject to extensive commission monitoring.” FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei went further, though, saying in a separate statement Monday that despite the agency’s decision, he still has “questions and concerns” about Gemini’s potential effect on shippers. While the statutory time for Gemini’s review is over, he reiterated the agency’s call about ongoing oversight of the new alliance. “I have questions and concerns about whether the Gemini Cooperation agreement filed with the FMC has, or will, result in anti-competitive consequences that violate the [US] Shipping Act,” Maffei said. “I have joined my colleagues in ordering FMC staff to engage in immediate and ongoing rigorous monitoring of the Gemini Cooperation agreement to ensure that it doesn’t illegally impact US importers, exporters, covered service providers and consumers.” Contact Michael Angell at <a href="michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has signed off on the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd vessel-sharing alliance that will start early next year, but the agency’s chief warned the ocean carriers they will be watched for how they treat US shippers. The FMC said Monday it will not seek to block Gemini, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s new vessel-sharing agreement for trades between the US, Asia, Europe and the Middle East , allowing the agreement to go into immediate effect after its filing with the FMC. Gemini’s actual services are set to debut in February 2025. The FMC asked the two companies in July to provide extra details about how Gemini would work due to concerns about the anti-competitive effect of the second- and fifth-largest ocean carriers by capacity pooling their vessels . While it found no anti-competitive issues, the FMC said Gemini “will be subject to extensive commission monitoring.” FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei went further, though, saying in a separate statement Monday that despite the agency’s decision, he still has “questions and concerns” about Gemini’s potential effect on shippers. While the statutory time for Gemini’s review is over, he reiterated the agency’s call about ongoing oversight of the new alliance. “I have questions and concerns about whether the Gemini Cooperation agreement filed with the FMC has, or will, result in anti-competitive consequences that violate the [US] Shipping Act,” Maffei said. “I have joined my colleagues in ordering FMC staff to engage in immediate and ongoing rigorous monitoring of the Gemini Cooperation agreement to ensure that it doesn’t illegally impact US importers, exporters, covered service providers and consumers.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

FMC won’t block Gemini alliance, but vows tight monitoring

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">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. </div>

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.

<div class="phx-topic">HMM will spend $17.5 billion over the next five years — more than half of that investment on new container ships and equipment — as the carrier on Tuesday put a price to the massive mid- to long-term strategic plan <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hmm-unveils-ambitious-plan-to-double-container-fleet-capacity-by-2030-5241007">announced back in April</a>.The South Korean flagship will spend $9.5 billion on 70 new container ships and container equipment with the “sustainable growth plan” covering its container, bulk and logistics segments with a target of achieving net-zero emissions across operations by 2045. “We remain committed to developing a resilient business portfolio and positioning ourselves as a global leader in eco-friendly shipping for the future,” Kim Kyung Bae, HMM president and CEO, said in a statement. HMM’s newbuilding plan will take the carrier’s fleet to 130 vessels by 2030 that it said would “prepare for the reorganization of global shipping alliances and strengthen the core business’ competitiveness.” “To meet the market’s demand for eco-friendly transportation, HMM aims to acquire around 70 green vessels by 2030 and establish a carbon-neutral ecosystem across all transportation segments by 2045,” the HMM statement said, adding that $1.3 billion of the investment in container shipping will be spent on new equipment. HMM remains a highly profitable carrier, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hmm-reports-soaring-profitability-but-warns-of-growing-market-challenges-5703223">with first-half operating profitability up 125% year over year</a> at $770 million as the carrier saw average rate levels up 55% year over year, the highest among the ocean carriers. HMM plans to allocate $3.1 billion to shipping and logistics infrastructure and will extend existing terminals and acquire additional terminals to accommodate the growing capacity. In its 2045 net-zero goal, HMM will spend $750 million on retrofitting ship engines, securing a supply chain for green fuels and improving operational stability and efficiency through digitalization. HMM, currently ranked the world’s eighth-largest container line by capacity, has an in-service fleet totaling 829,426 TEUs, with another 251,427 TEUs on order, according to Sea-web, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/most-newbuild-capacity-headed-asia-europe-amid-ongoing-diversions_20240715.html">The carrier deployed seven 13,000-TEU ships from Asia to the US West and East coasts in the first half</a> and will bring another five vessels of the same capacity online in the second half. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

HMM will spend $17.5 billion over the next five years — more than half of that investment on new container ships and equipment — as the carrier on Tuesday put a price to the massive mid- to long-term strategic plan announced back in April . The South Korean flagship will spend $9.5 billion on 70 new container ships and container equipment with the “sustainable growth plan” covering its container, bulk and logistics segments with a target of achieving net-zero emissions across operations by 2045. “We remain committed to developing a resilient business portfolio and positioning ourselves as a global leader in eco-friendly shipping for the future,” Kim Kyung Bae, HMM president and CEO, said in a statement. HMM’s newbuilding plan will take the carrier’s fleet to 130 vessels by 2030 that it said would “prepare for the reorganization of global shipping alliances and strengthen the core business’ competitiveness.” “To meet the market’s demand for eco-friendly transportation, HMM aims to acquire around 70 green vessels by 2030 and establish a carbon-neutral ecosystem across all transportation segments by 2045,” the HMM statement said, adding that $1.3 billion of the investment in container shipping will be spent on new equipment. HMM remains a highly profitable carrier, with first-half operating profitability up 125% year over year at $770 million as the carrier saw average rate levels up 55% year over year, the highest among the ocean carriers. HMM plans to allocate $3.1 billion to shipping and logistics infrastructure and will extend existing terminals and acquire additional terminals to accommodate the growing capacity. In its 2045 net-zero goal, HMM will spend $750 million on retrofitting ship engines, securing a supply chain for green fuels and improving operational stability and efficiency through digitalization. HMM, currently ranked the world’s eighth-largest container line by capacity, has an in-service fleet totaling 829,426 TEUs, with another 251,427 TEUs on order, according to Sea-web, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. The carrier deployed seven 13,000-TEU ships from Asia to the US West and East coasts in the first half and will bring another five vessels of the same capacity online in the second half. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

HMM to spend $17.5 billion on fleet, equipment by 2030

Subscribe today and save 20%
Use code STSW20 at checkout
Valid for first year of subscription

Subscribe Now - Free Trials - Wide Box

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE

Upgrade to Gold today for just $795
Use code GUW795 at checkout
Valid for first year of subscription

Upgrade Subscription - Wide Box

Save 20% on TPM25

Access Journal of Commerce content for 30 days.

Free Trial - Wide Box

Start a Free Trial Today

Subscribe Now - Anonymous - Wide Box

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

Arm your team with the most trusted information portal for the international container shipping industry.

Group Subscriptions - Wide Box

Get into a group subscription today

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

SMC3rates_shutterstock_5247046.jpg

Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

SAVE 20% ON TPM25
Upgrade to Gold today for just $795
Use code GUW795 at checkout
Valid for first year of subscription

Upgrade Subscription - Offer Box

Upgrade Subscription

SUBSCRIBE TODAY
Choose a plan that works best for you!

Subscribe Now - Anonymous - Offer Box

Subscribe Today

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
Subscribe today and save 20%
Use code STSW20 at checkout
Valid for first year of subscription


Subscribe Now - Free Trials - Offer Box

START A FREE TRIAL
Access Journal of Commerce content for 30 days

Free Trial - Offer Box

Free Trial

GET INTO A GROUP SUBSCRIPTION
Arm your team with unlimited Journal of Commerce content

Group Subscriptions - Offer Box

Group Subscriptions

A must-attend conference for shippers & logistics providers moving goods inland

Inland Conference - Rectangle Box

Attend Inland24

The premier conference for the global container shipping and supply chain community

TPM Conference - Rectangle Box

Attend TPM25

An extensive dashboard of charts organized by trade lane, mode, and topic

Gateway - Rectangle Box - Anonymous & Trial

Gateway

A premium access outlook critical to shippers and transportation providers

QI Report - Rectangle Box - Non-Gold

Quarterly Intelligence

QI Report - Rectangle Box - Gold

A premium access index of savings using domestic intermodal vs. OTR 

ISI Report - Rectangle Box - Non-Gold

Intermodal Savings Index

ISI Report - Rectangle Box - Gold

An in-depth analysis of transport trends in the multipurpose and heavy-lift fleet segment

Breakbulk Report - Rectangle Box - Non-Gold

Breakbulk Quarterly

Breakbulk Report - Rectangle Box - Gold

Customers scoring their intermodal partners to identify the best service providers

Intermodal Service Scorecard - Rectangle Box - Non-Gold

Intermodal Service Scorecard

Intermodal Service Scorecard - Rectangle Box - Gold

Gateway - Rectangle Box - Subscribers

The latest container shipping news and analysis of ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, technology solutions and end-to-end connectivity. Coverage includes the movement of containerized cargo handled by marine terminals and container ports, depots, container lines, drayage, consignees, importers and shippers, forwarders, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOs) and off-dock warehousing providers. The Journal of Commerce's container shipping news includes news from the trans-Pacific, Asia–Europe, North America–Caribbean, Central and South America trades, and intra-Asia trades.

Trans-Atlantic

Forwarding

Asia-Europe

Container shipping news and analysis of ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, technology and end-to-end connectivity.

Container Shipping News | Journal of Commerce

Breakbulk News shipping | Journal of Commerce

Breakbulk News

Stay informed on port news worldwide with Journal of Commerce. From decarbonization to labor updates, get insights on global developments.

Port News | Journal of Commerce

News and analysis of ocean containerized cargo movement, logistics, supply chains, technology, and end-to-end connectivity. Maritime news and analysis of containerized ocean cargo movement, breakbulk and roll-on and roll-off shipping from origin to destination.

Latest News

More News & Analysis

‘Brace for impact’ warning as air cargo heads into historic peak season

US retailers give big upgrade to September import forecast amid strike threat

Asian ports at the fore in updated Gemini alliance network schedule