<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The roller coaster ride for fuel surcharges on trans-Pacific container trade will last at least anot</div>

The roller coaster ride for fuel surcharges on trans-Pacific container trade will last at least anot

<div>The roller coaster ride for fuel surcharges on trans-Pacific container trade will last at least another two months. Both the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, composed of lines in the eastbound trade from Asia to the United States, and the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, whose members serve the trade from the U.S. to Asia, are reducing their bunker surcharge for 40-foot containers to $860, as of April 1. That's down from the rate of $905 that has been in effect since March 1. But then the rate will increase to $995 per 40-foot box on May 1. The rate for 20-foot containers,...

The roller coaster ride for fuel surcharges on trans-Pacific container trade will last at least another two months. Both the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, composed of lines in the eastbound trade from Asia to the United States, and the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, whose members serve the trade from the U.S. to Asia, are reducing their bunker surcharge for 40-foot containers to $860, as of April 1. That's down from the rate of $905 that has been in effect since March 1. But then the rate will increase to $995 per 40-foot box on May 1. The rate for 20-foot containers, which was $724 in March, will drop to $688 in April. On May 1, however, it will increase to $796. While the WTSA charges the same rate for 40- and 45-foot boxes, the TSA distinguishes between boxes of different sizes. The eastbound group's rate for 45-foot containers and 40-foot high-cube containers will drop from $1,146 and $1,018 in March, to $1,089 and $968 on April 1. But in May it will increase to $1,260 and $1,120. The TSA's rate for cargo priced on a metric ton or cubic meter basis will drop from $20 in March to $19 on April 1 but then increase to $22 on May 1. The WTSA charges substantially higher rates for cargo priced on a metric ton or cubic meter basis, reflecting the fact that U.S. exports are generally heavier. The rate will follow the same pattern, dropping from $44 in March to $42 on April 1 but then increase to $48 on May 1. The surcharges are based on an index of fuel prices. The May 1 increases reflect the increases in March, while the lower surcharges in April reflect a decline in February from January levels. In contrast to the April dip in bunker surcharges, both groups will be raising their inland fuel surcharges in April and again in May. The current rate for rail and intermodal rail/truck shipments will increase from $280 per box to $290 on April 1, and then to $353 on May 1. The rate for local and regional truck moves will increase from $81 in March to $84 on April 1 and then to $102 on May 1. The big challenge for the carriers will be to get shippers to accept floating surcharges in upcoming service contract negotiations. In the past, many contracts have rolled the fuel surcharges into one overall rate, or have them fixed at the same level throughout the life of the contract. The surcharges are recommended guidelines; implementation is up to the individual carriers. The TSA has 15 member carriers; 10 of them also belong to the WTSA.

Maritime

Trans-Pac Fuel Fees to Fall, then Rise

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Zvi Schreiber oversaw key milestones like Freightos’ public listing and a transformative acquisition of airfreight booking platform WebCargo, but the company has yet to turn a profit. </div>

Zvi Schreiber oversaw key milestones like Freightos’ public listing and a transformative acquisition of airfreight booking platform WebCargo, but the company has yet to turn a profit.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Freightos founder and CEO Zvi Schreiber will step down on Jan. 31, the company announced Wednesday, as the freight technology and marketplace provider looks for new leadership to guide it into its “next phase.” CFO Pablo Pinillos will become interim CEO from Feb. 1, Freightos said in a statement, adding that Schreiber will remain as a non-executive board member with the company after his departure as CEO. “The time is right for Freightos to have a CEO laser-focused on our next stage of scale-up, while I turn my attention to new adventures,” Schreiber said in the statement. Founded by Schreiber in 2012, Freightos provides a range of procurement, booking, rate management and rate data services. Among the notable milestones in Schreiber’s tenure as CEO was the launch of the now-widely used FBX spot rate index, the move to take Freightos public in 2023 on the NASDAQ exchange, and the transformative acquisition of air freight booking platform WebCargo. Along with launching a freight rate marketplace used primarily by forwarders and smaller importers and exporters, Freightos provides tools for cargo airlines and a digital customs brokerage service. Despite sizable growth in two key metrics it tracks — the number of bookings and gross booking value passing through its marketplace — Freightos has yet to turn a profit. The company’s third-quarter financials showed losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.6 million on revenue of $7.7 million. For context, those losses are the lowest since the company went public two years ago and its revenue is 25% higher over the last year. “Zvi poured himself into this company,” Udo Lange, non-executive chairman of Freightos, said in the statement. “His vision and his belief in a connected, digital freight ecosystem have shaped Freightos at every step. We’re now moving into Freightos’ next phase...as we scale, implementing ongoing improvements for operational discipline, and delivering the full potential of the platform that Zvi envisioned.” Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com.</a></div>

Freightos founder and CEO Zvi Schreiber will step down on Jan. 31, the company announced Wednesday, as the freight technology and marketplace provider looks for new leadership to guide it into its “next phase.” CFO Pablo Pinillos will become interim CEO from Feb. 1, Freightos said in a statement, adding that Schreiber will remain as a non-executive board member with the company after his departure as CEO. “The time is right for Freightos to have a CEO laser-focused on our next stage of scale-up, while I turn my attention to new adventures,” Schreiber said in the statement. Founded by Schreiber in 2012, Freightos provides a range of procurement, booking, rate management and rate data services. Among the notable milestones in Schreiber’s tenure as CEO was the launch of the now-widely used FBX spot rate index, the move to take Freightos public in 2023 on the NASDAQ exchange, and the transformative acquisition of air freight booking platform WebCargo. Along with launching a freight rate marketplace used primarily by forwarders and smaller importers and exporters, Freightos provides tools for cargo airlines and a digital customs brokerage service. Despite sizable growth in two key metrics it tracks — the number of bookings and gross booking value passing through its marketplace — Freightos has yet to turn a profit. The company’s third-quarter financials showed losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.6 million on revenue of $7.7 million. For context, those losses are the lowest since the company went public two years ago and its revenue is 25% higher over the last year. “Zvi poured himself into this company,” Udo Lange, non-executive chairman of Freightos, said in the statement. “His vision and his belief in a connected, digital freight ecosystem have shaped Freightos at every step. We’re now moving into Freightos’ next phase...as we scale, implementing ongoing improvements for operational discipline, and delivering the full potential of the platform that Zvi envisioned.” Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com.

Logistics Technology News

Freightos founder to step down as CEO as company moves into ‘next phase’

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The head of one opposition union says the job protection deals agreed to by other unions in exchange for their support of the merger have “loopholes big enough to traverse freight trains through.”</div>

The head of one opposition union says the job protection deals agreed to by other unions in exchange for their support of the merger have “loopholes big enough to traverse freight trains through.”

<div class="phx-topic">The second- and third-largest railroad worker unions in the US on Wednesday came out in opposition to Union Pacific’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern. The move by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWED), both part of the Teamsters union, comes just days before UP is expected to file its formal application seeking approval for the deal from the US Surface Transportation Board. BLET National President Mark Wallace said the decision to oppose the merger came after five months of review, as well as meetings across the US with rank-and-file workers and direct negotiations with UP CEO Jim Vena over post-merger job protections. “We believe this transcontinental railroad will make shipping by rail less attractive as the merged carrier passes off rail lines that service small towns, factories, and farms to short-line railroads,” Wallace said in a statement. “For rail customers, it will be a choice between Hell or the highway.” BLET also cited safety concerns, referring to the high-profile NS derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, and UP’s propensity to run “extremely long trains, some three miles in length” as key factors behind its opposition to the merger. The unions also rejected Vena’s promise to protect the jobs of workers, which convinced other unions to back the deal. “We don’t believe anything Vena says about how workers would be treated in the supersized Union Pacific,” Tony Cardwell, BMWED’s president, said in the statement. “The agreements reached with some other unions related to job protections post-merger have loopholes big enough to traverse freight trains through. We refuse to accept the same terms in return for unions’ support for the merger.” <h3>UP reiterates job protections </h3>Union Pacific responded in a statement Wednesday saying the growth opportunities in the merger are “unprecedented in railroad history.” UP also reiterated its job protection stance and emphasized that five unions have come out in support of the deal. UP flagged what it said was its commitment to unions, notably an average annual compensation and benefits package worth $160,000 that it said is roughly 40% above the national industrial average and retirement income that’s roughly twice the average Social Security recipient. BLET and BMWED become the first major rail unions to oppose the proposed merger. Five have come out in favor, driven mainly by the job protections UP has offered to all union workers. The railroad has vowed that anyone who has a job after the deal is approved is protected against losing their job for any reason linked to the merger. The Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD) -- the largest US rail union -- <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/major-rail-union-backs-up-ns-merger-after-job-protection-deal-6084510">endorsed the deal in September</a>, while the International Brotherhood of Railway Boilermakers <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/up-reaches-agreement-with-ibb-union-to-support-ns-merger-6122657">pledged support</a> last month. Three other smaller unions – the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, and the United Supervisors Council of America have also come out in favor of the merger. ”We’ve formalized this ‘jobs-for-life’ agreement with five unions...and we look forward to filing our application with the STB this week,” UP said. There is also a split among other interested parties. Nine Republican Attorneys General wrote a letter opposing the deal on Nov. 14, but the Attorneys General from three other US states, also all Republicans, wrote their own letter nearly two weeks later supporting the deal. The STB is not expected to rule on the UP-NS application until 2027. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a></div>

The second- and third-largest railroad worker unions in the US on Wednesday came out in opposition to Union Pacific’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern. The move by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWED), both part of the Teamsters union, comes just days before UP is expected to file its formal application seeking approval for the deal from the US Surface Transportation Board. BLET National President Mark Wallace said the decision to oppose the merger came after five months of review, as well as meetings across the US with rank-and-file workers and direct negotiations with UP CEO Jim Vena over post-merger job protections. “We believe this transcontinental railroad will make shipping by rail less attractive as the merged carrier passes off rail lines that service small towns, factories, and farms to short-line railroads,” Wallace said in a statement. “For rail customers, it will be a choice between Hell or the highway.” BLET also cited safety concerns, referring to the high-profile NS derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, and UP’s propensity to run “extremely long trains, some three miles in length” as key factors behind its opposition to the merger. The unions also rejected Vena’s promise to protect the jobs of workers, which convinced other unions to back the deal. “We don’t believe anything Vena says about how workers would be treated in the supersized Union Pacific,” Tony Cardwell, BMWED’s president, said in the statement. “The agreements reached with some other unions related to job protections post-merger have loopholes big enough to traverse freight trains through. We refuse to accept the same terms in return for unions’ support for the merger.” UP reiterates job protections Union Pacific responded in a statement Wednesday saying the growth opportunities in the merger are “unprecedented in railroad history.” UP also reiterated its job protection stance and emphasized that five unions have come out in support of the deal. UP flagged what it said was its commitment to unions, notably an average annual compensation and benefits package worth $160,000 that it said is roughly 40% above the national industrial average and retirement income that’s roughly twice the average Social Security recipient. BLET and BMWED become the first major rail unions to oppose the proposed merger. Five have come out in favor, driven mainly by the job protections UP has offered to all union workers. The railroad has vowed that anyone who has a job after the deal is approved is protected against losing their job for any reason linked to the merger. The Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD) -- the largest US rail union -- endorsed the deal in September , while the International Brotherhood of Railway Boilermakers pledged support last month. Three other smaller unions – the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, and the United Supervisors Council of America have also come out in favor of the merger. ”We’ve formalized this ‘jobs-for-life’ agreement with five unions...and we look forward to filing our application with the STB this week,” UP said. There is also a split among other interested parties. Nine Republican Attorneys General wrote a letter opposing the deal on Nov. 14, but the Attorneys General from three other US states, also all Republicans, wrote their own letter nearly two weeks later supporting the deal. The STB is not expected to rule on the UP-NS application until 2027. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com

Rail News

North-American rail

Two large rail unions say they oppose planned UP-NS merger

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Hamburg-based carrier will share the tender with feeder carrier North Sea Container Line that will operate e-ammonia services on a northern intra-Europe trade lane. </div>

The Hamburg-based carrier will share the tender with feeder carrier North Sea Container Line that will operate e-ammonia services on a northern intra-Europe trade lane. 

<div class="phx-topic">Hapag-Lloyd has won the deepsea portion of an e-fuel-focused tender issued by the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), the second green shipping tender the carrier has secured from the group of global shippers. The Hamburg-based carrier will share the tender with feeder carrier North Sea Container Line (NCL) that will operate e-fuel services on a northern intra-Europe lane, ZEMBA said in a statement Wednesday. “At a time when sourcing scalable e-fuels remains a major challenge for the entire industry, winning the second ZEMBA tender is a significant milestone for us,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in the statement, adding that deploying e-methanol vessels was “an essential step in our journey to reach net-zero fleet operations by 2045.”    The <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hapag-lloyd-wins-asia-europe-green-shipping-tender-to-launch-next-year-5240949">first ZEMBA tender won by Hapag-Lloyd</a> in 2024 was based on biomethane sourced from the carrier’s suppliers via the European gas grid, but the second tender is focused on two fuel pathways – e-methanol and e-ammonia. Hapag-Lloyd has committed to using e-methanol on dual-fuel container ships on a to-be-determined deepsea trade lane from 2027, while NCL will deploy the world’s first e-ammonia-powered vessel on a northern European trade lane. The timing of the tender announcement was intended to follow the hoped-for adoption in October of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) net-zero framework of measures aimed at closing the cost gap between conventional and alternative fuels while accelerating investment in production. But despite the IMO being <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/imo-punts-on-pivotal-net-zero-shipping-regulation-6099141">forced to postpone the net-zero framework process for a year</a> after the adoption was derailed by US-led opposition, the private sector continues to pick up the slack. “This voluntary private sector initiative remains on track to invest in rapid on-the-water deployment of vastly scalable, next-generation maritime fuels,” Ingrid Irigoyen, president and CEO of ZEMBA, said in the statement.  <h3>Great potential for economies of scale </h3>Based on commitments to date, the more than 40 members of ZEMBA — including co-founders Amazon, Patagonia and Tchibo, and members including Beiersdorf, Brooks Running, IKEA and Nike — will be able to deploy e-fuels on an initial 22 billion metric ton nautical miles of transport activity over three years, with some members extending to five years, ZEMBA's statement said. It is estimated that a combined 132,000  of GHG emissions will be abated starting in 2027.   “Just as global renewable energy costs have declined significantly in recent years as the market has matured, e-methanol and e-ammonia that are produced with clean energy offer great potential for economies of scale,” ZEMBA said.  “With this announcement, ZEMBA’s first-mover members are demonstrating support for scalable, strategic, and holistic supply chain sustainability solutions that can enable them to meet long-term goals,” it added. Hapag-Lloyd has made big moves to bolster its fleet of methanol vessels. Earlier this month, the carrier announced <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hapag-lloyd-to-expand-feeder-fleet-with-new-methanol-ready-ships-6133938">plans to spend $500 million building eight dual-fuel methanol feeder vessels</a> of 4,500-TEU capacity for delivery in 2028 and 2029. And last year, it said it was <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hapag-lloyd-joins-maersk-in-chinese-methanol-supply-deal-5866031">retrofitting five of its post-Panamax chartered ships into dual-fuel methanol</a> while securing a long-term supply deal with Chinese methanol producer Goldwind. In the inaugural tender, ZEMBA members collectively committed to purchase alternative fuels associated with over 1 billion TEU-miles of zero-emission shipping on the Singapore-to-Rotterdam trade lane in 2025 and 2026. The tender covered a negotiated “green premium” paid by shippers and does not involve the base freight rate. As Hapag-Lloyd nears the halfway mark of the first tender, Arne Maibohm, the carrier’s director of decarbonization, told the Journal of Commerce the company was “fully on track and meeting all commitments.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Hapag-Lloyd has won the deepsea portion of an e-fuel-focused tender issued by the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), the second green shipping tender the carrier has secured from the group of global shippers.  The Hamburg-based carrier will share the tender with feeder carrier North Sea Container Line (NCL) that will operate e-fuel services on a northern intra-Europe lane, ZEMBA said in a statement Wednesday.  “At a time when sourcing scalable e-fuels remains a major challenge for the entire industry, winning the second ZEMBA tender is a significant milestone for us,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in the statement, adding that deploying e-methanol vessels was “an essential step in our journey to reach net-zero fleet operations by 2045.”     The  first ZEMBA tender won by Hapag-Lloyd  in 2024 was based on biomethane sourced from the carrier’s suppliers via the European gas grid, but the second tender is focused on two fuel pathways – e-methanol and e-ammonia.  Hapag-Lloyd has committed to using e-methanol on dual-fuel container ships on a to-be-determined deepsea trade lane from 2027, while NCL will deploy the world’s first e-ammonia-powered vessel on a northern European trade lane.  The timing of the tender announcement was intended to follow the hoped-for adoption in October of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) net-zero framework of measures aimed at closing the cost gap between conventional and alternative fuels while accelerating investment in production. But despite the IMO being  forced to postpone the net-zero framework process for a year  after the adoption was derailed by US-led opposition, the private sector continues to pick up the slack.  “This voluntary private sector initiative remains on track to invest in rapid on-the-water deployment of vastly scalable, next-generation maritime fuels,” Ingrid Irigoyen, president and CEO of ZEMBA, said in the statement.   Great potential for economies of scale  Based on commitments to date, the more than 40 members of ZEMBA — including co-founders Amazon, Patagonia and Tchibo, and members including Beiersdorf, Brooks Running, IKEA and Nike — will be able to deploy e-fuels on an initial 22 billion metric ton nautical miles of transport activity over three years, with some members extending to five years, ZEMBA's statement said. It is estimated that a combined 132,000  of GHG emissions will be abated starting in 2027.    “Just as global renewable energy costs have declined significantly in recent years as the market has matured, e-methanol and e-ammonia that are produced with clean energy offer great potential for economies of scale,” ZEMBA said.   “With this announcement, ZEMBA’s first-mover members are demonstrating support for scalable, strategic, and holistic supply chain sustainability solutions that can enable them to meet long-term goals,” it added.  Hapag-Lloyd has made big moves to bolster its fleet of methanol vessels. Earlier this month, the carrier announced  plans to spend $500 million building eight dual-fuel methanol feeder vessels  of 4,500-TEU capacity for delivery in 2028 and 2029. And last year, it said it was  retrofitting five of its post-Panamax chartered ships into dual-fuel methanol  while securing a long-term supply deal with Chinese methanol producer Goldwind.  In the inaugural tender, ZEMBA members collectively committed to purchase alternative fuels associated with over 1 billion TEU-miles of zero-emission shipping on the Singapore-to-Rotterdam trade lane in 2025 and 2026. The tender covered a negotiated “green premium” paid by shippers and does not involve the base freight rate.  As Hapag-Lloyd nears the halfway mark of the first tender, Arne Maibohm, the carrier’s director of decarbonization, told the Journal of Commerce the company was “fully on track and meeting all commitments.”  Contact Greg Knowler at  greg.knowler@spglobal.com . 

Container lines

Container Shipping News

Hapag-Lloyd wins second green tender from global shipper group 

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">But a spokesperson for ONE would not be drawn on whether the agreement was a precursor to the carrier relaunching its own services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.</div>

But a spokesperson for ONE would not be drawn on whether the agreement was a precursor to the carrier relaunching its own services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

<div class="phx-topic">Ocean Network Express (ONE) is making a tentative return to the Red Sea cargo market under a slot charter agreement with three regional carriers, including Thailand’s Regional Container Lines (RCL), which launched its Red Sea-China Service (RCS) last month. ONE confirmed the move in a customer advisory Wednesday and said the agreement would start on Jan. 15 with the departure of the 3,534-TEU SSF Dream from Shanghai. The carrier declined to comment on how much space it was taking on the service. “We do not comment on slot allocations and are unable to provide added color,” a spokesperson for Singapore-headquartered ONE told the Journal of Commerce. ONE said its involvement in the service is being done, “to meet the demand between China and Red Sea ports, allowing us to better serve our customers with optimized network coverage and reliable shipping solutions.” ONE joins Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, which recently signed a slot charter agreement on the same express service. Evergreen’s participation started on Dec. 3 when the 3,700-TEU SSF Valence sailed from Shanghai. The RCS was launched by RCL and partners — Hong Kong-listed TS Lines and Dubai-headquartered Global Feeder Shipping — on Nov. 14. Five ships are deployed on the service that will provide four sailings a month starting in January. The full rotation is four Chinese ports — Shanghai, Qingdao, Nansha and Shekou — before calling Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Sokhna (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan), Jeddah and Shanghai on an eight-week return voyage. There is a 31-day transit from Shanghai to Aqaba and 23 days from Nansha to Aqaba. <h3>Carriers mostly avoiding Red Sea transits </h3>ONE previously operated three Red Sea-related services connecting Aqaba, Jeddah and Sokhna with ports in Asia before those services were suspended due to the missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels operating from Yemen that began two years ago, forcing liners to divert around southern Africa. Ocean carriers have been weighing a resumption of mainline Red Sea/Suez Canal transits in the aftermath of what has been a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but most shipping executives say the security situation is still too unsettled. The Premier Alliance <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/premier-alliances-2026-network-to-maintain-red-sea-diversions-6134989">unveiled its updated 2026 network this week</a> with services from Asia to Europe, the Mediterranean and the US East Coast continuing to divert around southern Africa to avoid passing through the Red Sea. The ONE spokesperson would not be drawn on whether the slot charter deal with RCL and its partners was a precursor to relaunching its own services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. “On Red Sea transits, our priority remains ensuring the safety of vessels, crew, and cargo,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to monitor the situation in the region closely and assess market conditions and customer needs. Any future service decisions will be made based on a careful evaluation of safety, demand, and operational feasibility.” The return of ONE and Evergreen to the Red Sea follows the upgrading of CMA CGM’s Red Sea Express 2 (REX2) service in October between five ports in China, Singapore and Djibouti and three Red Sea ports. CMA CGM said the upgrade included a direct call at Qingdao and Aqaba and double calls at Jeddah. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>.</div>

Ocean Network Express (ONE) is making a tentative return to the Red Sea cargo market under a slot charter agreement with three regional carriers, including Thailand’s Regional Container Lines (RCL), which launched its Red Sea-China Service (RCS) last month. ONE confirmed the move in a customer advisory Wednesday and said the agreement would start on Jan. 15 with the departure of the 3,534-TEU SSF Dream from Shanghai. The carrier declined to comment on how much space it was taking on the service. “We do not comment on slot allocations and are unable to provide added color,” a spokesperson for Singapore-headquartered ONE told the Journal of Commerce. ONE said its involvement in the service is being done, “to meet the demand between China and Red Sea ports, allowing us to better serve our customers with optimized network coverage and reliable shipping solutions.” ONE joins Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, which recently signed a slot charter agreement on the same express service. Evergreen’s participation started on Dec. 3 when the 3,700-TEU SSF Valence sailed from Shanghai. The RCS was launched by RCL and partners — Hong Kong-listed TS Lines and Dubai-headquartered Global Feeder Shipping — on Nov. 14. Five ships are deployed on the service that will provide four sailings a month starting in January. The full rotation is four Chinese ports — Shanghai, Qingdao, Nansha and Shekou — before calling Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Sokhna (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan), Jeddah and Shanghai on an eight-week return voyage. There is a 31-day transit from Shanghai to Aqaba and 23 days from Nansha to Aqaba. Carriers mostly avoiding Red Sea transits ONE previously operated three Red Sea-related services connecting Aqaba, Jeddah and Sokhna with ports in Asia before those services were suspended due to the missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels operating from Yemen that began two years ago, forcing liners to divert around southern Africa. Ocean carriers have been weighing a resumption of mainline Red Sea/Suez Canal transits in the aftermath of what has been a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but most shipping executives say the security situation is still too unsettled. The Premier Alliance unveiled its updated 2026 network this week with services from Asia to Europe, the Mediterranean and the US East Coast continuing to divert around southern Africa to avoid passing through the Red Sea. The ONE spokesperson would not be drawn on whether the slot charter deal with RCL and its partners was a precursor to relaunching its own services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. “On Red Sea transits, our priority remains ensuring the safety of vessels, crew, and cargo,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to monitor the situation in the region closely and assess market conditions and customer needs. Any future service decisions will be made based on a careful evaluation of safety, demand, and operational feasibility.” The return of ONE and Evergreen to the Red Sea follows the upgrading of CMA CGM’s Red Sea Express 2 (REX2) service in October between five ports in China, Singapore and Djibouti and three Red Sea ports. CMA CGM said the upgrade included a direct call at Qingdao and Aqaba and double calls at Jeddah. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Port News

International ports

ONE returns to Red Sea under slot charter deal with Thailand’s RCL, partners

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Unless shipowners significantly postpone or cancel orders, the wallops of new tonnage added in 2027 and 2028 will dwarf the deliveries made this year and next.</div>

Unless shipowners significantly postpone or cancel orders, the wallops of new tonnage added in 2027 and 2028 will dwarf the deliveries made this year and next.

<div class="phx-topic">There is less new container tonnage scheduled to be delivered in 2026 than 2025, but the impact to the market will be larger, both in terms of putting downward pressure on pricing and inching toward what some carrier executives say is inevitable: a significant idling of tonnage. Signs that the absorption of the 1.8 million TEUs of tonnage received this year from shipyards is reaching saturation are emerging as container demand slows. And unless shipowners significantly postpone or cancel orders, the wallops of new tonnage added in 2027 and 2028 will dwarf the deliveries made this year and next, according to Sea-web, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/6135193_0.1.jpg"></img></div>Some 1.48 million TEUs of tonnage are set to be delivered to shipowners in 2026, a 17.7% decrease from what was received this year. But another 2.3 million TEUs of tonnage is due in 2027, with 3.4 million TEUs slated for delivery in 2028, which is approximately equal to all the tonnage received in 2022 and 2023. Demand growth is going in the other direction. Global container volumes in 2026 will grow in the range of 2.5% to 3.5%, according to shipowner association Bimco. Comparably, container volume grew 4.5% to 5.5% in 2025 versus 2024. Container lines and shipowners this year received approximately 155,000 TEUs of capacity from ultra-large container ships, which can handle more than 20,000 TEUs, and deployed them on the Asia-North Europe trade, according to Sea-web. Global container volume growth in October <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/global-container-volume-growth-slows-on-us-eu-declines-6130629">fell to its slowest pace</a> since February, expanding 2.1% year over year, according to the most recent data from Container Trades Statistics. On a 20-month rolling average, global demand growth in October hit the lowest level in 20 months, according to Simon Heaney, senior manager of container research at Drewry. <h3>Capacity absorbers </h3>Port congestion in Europe and sporadically in Asia mitigated some of the overcapacity this year, and, to a lesser degree, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/widening-china-import-export-imbalance-soaking-up-container-capacity-6118386">China’s widening import-export ratio</a> is whittling some functional capacity. This year began with congestion tying up at least 30% of the global fleet, according to Clarksons’ Port Congestion Index, with the persistent and sporadic congestion in Europe and Asia, respectively, continuing through the year. That absorption of functional capacity pales in comparison to the proverbial finger in the dike: Suez Canal routing diversions. If other carriers follow CMA CGM in regularly sailing through the Red Sea amid a shaky Gaza truce that is keeping Houthi rebels at bay, the industry can expect months of congestion, carriers and forwarders warn. That would only delay the return of functional capacity released by shorter sailings through the canal. Slow steaming vessels could help absorb capacity on the margins, with each type of engine and vessel facing limits on how slow they can operate before becoming energy inefficient. Container ships sailing from Asia to North Europe on average were 21.7% faster in the first three quarters of this year compared with the same period in 2018, according to an analysis of S&amp;P’s Maritime Emissions Registry. But, ultimately, only idling and scrapping of aging vessels will blunt the rising global overcapacity, barring nearly miraculous demand growth. As of mid-November, only 0.8% of the global fleet, equating to about 273,000 TEUs, was idled, according to analyst Alphaliner. Just a dozen ships, totaling 10,200 TEUs, were scrapped in 2025, according to an early December analysis of Sea-web data. Shipowners and carriers scrapped 19 times more TEU tonnage in 2019 and 2020, before the pandemic-driven US import surge showed how quickly overcapacity becomes emergency capacity. But the cost analysis of keeping spare capacity is changing as carriers’ operating costs rise, rates soften and the benefits of extending the life of aging vessels to keep up with global energy and design regulations weaken. Strong idling and then ramped-up scrapping seem inevitable unless carriers have forgotten the recent benefits of pulling capacity fast, such as in the spring of 2020, when US import demand plunged at the outset of the pandemic before rocketing. Contact Mark Szakonyi at <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com">mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

There is less new container tonnage scheduled to be delivered in 2026 than 2025, but the impact to the market will be larger, both in terms of putting downward pressure on pricing and inching toward what some carrier executives say is inevitable: a significant idling of tonnage. Signs that the absorption of the 1.8 million TEUs of tonnage received this year from shipyards is reaching saturation are emerging as container demand slows. And unless shipowners significantly postpone or cancel orders, the wallops of new tonnage added in 2027 and 2028 will dwarf the deliveries made this year and next, according to Sea-web, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Some 1.48 million TEUs of tonnage are set to be delivered to shipowners in 2026, a 17.7% decrease from what was received this year. But another 2.3 million TEUs of tonnage is due in 2027, with 3.4 million TEUs slated for delivery in 2028, which is approximately equal to all the tonnage received in 2022 and 2023. Demand growth is going in the other direction. Global container volumes in 2026 will grow in the range of 2.5% to 3.5%, according to shipowner association Bimco. Comparably, container volume grew 4.5% to 5.5% in 2025 versus 2024. Container lines and shipowners this year received approximately 155,000 TEUs of capacity from ultra-large container ships, which can handle more than 20,000 TEUs, and deployed them on the Asia-North Europe trade, according to Sea-web. Global container volume growth in October fell to its slowest pace since February, expanding 2.1% year over year, according to the most recent data from Container Trades Statistics. On a 20-month rolling average, global demand growth in October hit the lowest level in 20 months, according to Simon Heaney, senior manager of container research at Drewry. Capacity absorbers Port congestion in Europe and sporadically in Asia mitigated some of the overcapacity this year, and, to a lesser degree, China’s widening import-export ratio is whittling some functional capacity. This year began with congestion tying up at least 30% of the global fleet, according to Clarksons’ Port Congestion Index, with the persistent and sporadic congestion in Europe and Asia, respectively, continuing through the year. That absorption of functional capacity pales in comparison to the proverbial finger in the dike: Suez Canal routing diversions. If other carriers follow CMA CGM in regularly sailing through the Red Sea amid a shaky Gaza truce that is keeping Houthi rebels at bay, the industry can expect months of congestion, carriers and forwarders warn. That would only delay the return of functional capacity released by shorter sailings through the canal. Slow steaming vessels could help absorb capacity on the margins, with each type of engine and vessel facing limits on how slow they can operate before becoming energy inefficient. Container ships sailing from Asia to North Europe on average were 21.7% faster in the first three quarters of this year compared with the same period in 2018, according to an analysis of S&P’s Maritime Emissions Registry. But, ultimately, only idling and scrapping of aging vessels will blunt the rising global overcapacity, barring nearly miraculous demand growth. As of mid-November, only 0.8% of the global fleet, equating to about 273,000 TEUs, was idled, according to analyst Alphaliner. Just a dozen ships, totaling 10,200 TEUs, were scrapped in 2025, according to an early December analysis of Sea-web data. Shipowners and carriers scrapped 19 times more TEU tonnage in 2019 and 2020, before the pandemic-driven US import surge showed how quickly overcapacity becomes emergency capacity. But the cost analysis of keeping spare capacity is changing as carriers’ operating costs rise, rates soften and the benefits of extending the life of aging vessels to keep up with global energy and design regulations weaken. Strong idling and then ramped-up scrapping seem inevitable unless carriers have forgotten the recent benefits of pulling capacity fast, such as in the spring of 2020, when US import demand plunged at the outset of the pandemic before rocketing. Contact Mark Szakonyi at  mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com .

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Easing container tonnage delivery in 2026 belies signs of saturation

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