Container lines

The fresh capacity carriers rushed into the US’ busiest trade lane in April and May is no longer needed, sending rates on a downward spiral and forcing carriers to shelve proposed price hikes.

The complaint from Dollar General alleges the carrier sold more of its capacity in the high-flying spot market of 2021, leaving shippers under fixed-price contracts in the lurch.

The deployment of 24,000-TEU ships on its Africa Express service allows the carrier to better leverage billions of dollars invested in West Africa in recent years, reducing exposure to congested North European ports.

The $177 million plan to enlarge Spain’s TTI Algeciras is in line with the strategy of ocean carriers to diversify revenue and exert greater control over their supply chains.

The uptick in rates comes despite a 9% surge in deployed capacity on regional services since February, according to figures from British transport consultant MDS Transmodal.

Although spot rates from Asia to the US are dropping due to waning demand and overcapacity, the carrier is zeroing in on the e-commerce sector with its expedited transit times and the quick delivery of containers upon discharge from vessels.

The trade group of ocean carriers is exempt from US antitrust scrutiny under an agreement it filed with the FMC five years ago, but the agency is now questioning that arrangement.

The carrier said vessels on the five-day transit to Philadelphia will carry food, apparel, industrial products and consumer goods.

Swire, UWL’s original partner for the express service to Seattle, will phase out its vessels during July while new partner Emirate Shipping Line rotates into the loop.

Tariff uncertainty, weakening demand and an abundance of capacity are hanging over the container shipping industry, the global bank said in a report Thursday.

A new service from Green Tide Logistics will connect Veracruz to Philadelphia in five to six days via truck and multi-purpose vessels capable of handling 1,200 to 1,700 TEUs.

The digital solution will be available for US imports this week and is set to roll out globally in August.

Peak shipping season began early on both trade lanes, but the advancing of US orders from China will hit trans-Pacific demand in the second half of the year.

The surge, however brief, will nonetheless be a welcome boost in business for the ports after a lackluster May and early June.

CMA CGM, Maersk, MSC and Cosco are among mainliners charging add-ons on overweight containers.

Internal and external forces in the first half of 2025 mitigated container vessel overcapacity, but steep challenges lie ahead, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

With little relief forthcoming, cargo owners need to build delays into their shipping plans as port and ship capacity remain tight, speakers at the Agriculture Transportation Coalition’s annual meeting said.

But sources do not think carriers will have an opportunity to net full recovery of the proposed amounts in the current market environment unless strategic capacity cuts occur.

Consultancy MDS Transmodal said the two companies will have just under half of the almost 176,700 TEUs in feeder ship capacity deployed in Europe and the Mediterranean.

A more than 30% one-week drop in rates from Asia to the US West Coast is showing that the import rush sparked by the temporary pause in higher US tariffs will apparently be short-lived.

The China-based liners carried a combined 1.09 million TEUs in imports to the US through April, up 23% over the same period in 2024, according to Journal of Commerce rankings.

It is reasonable to assume the larger container carriers are now going to earn above historical returns, but they will not be immune from significant dips when supply significantly exceeds demand, writes Jeremy Masters.

While just 2% to 3% of global container traffic transits the key chokepoint, any restrictions would further tie up global vessel capacity and cut off the ports of Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi.

Liners have enjoyed the higher rates and profits that come from external market shocks, but it’s fair to wonder how sustainable that is, writes Peter Tirschwell.

A widening spread between the West and East coasts comes as carriers have added fresh capacity, especially to Southern California, to take advantage of what had been a sharp jump in demand and rates following the US pause on higher tariffs against China.

The terminal operator said it has reduced the inventory of rail-bound containers at its Elizabeth facility to about 1,600, down from about 4,000 in early May.

The shift of some capacity to the Asia-US trade to meet surging demand there is contributing to tighter vessel space in the ECSA market, forwarders tell the Journal of Commerce.

The hub in northern Germany is expecting rapid volume growth for the rest of the year following a record first quarter spurred on by the launch of the carrier alliance.

The carrier continues to ramp up its non-ocean businesses that were acquired from Performance Team with the lease of a new warehouse located about 10 miles from the Port of Philadelphia.

Adding to recent capacity cutbacks, the carrier has redeployed vessels serving its premier Himalaya Express service between India, Europe and the Mediterranean onto Asian trades.

Carriers are looking to ride the higher rates as long as they can before the fresh vessel capacity that is making its way to the trans-Pacific begins to dull the momentum.

Despite sustained and pending capacity injections, major liners have the ability to alleviate short-term losses and produce healthy profits, writes Jeremy Masters.

Labor shortages and low water levels in Europe are intensifying persistent port bottlenecks, while the trans-Pacific demand is pulling vessels out of Asia-Europe.

Ocean carrier profits this year are expected to be less than half of what they were in 2024 amid an uncertain macroeconomic outlook.

That the port is the largest transshipment hub makes it convenient for carriers to transship cargo as they redeploy vessels from European and other long-haul trades to US-focused services.

Within a span of roughly 24 hours, one court decision blocked the US tariffs and a separate ruling restored the tariffs through June 9, if not longer.

Sources have linked some of the US-India blankings to carriers shifting capacity to capitalize on surging volumes on the eastbound trans-Pacific trade following a temporary 90-day tariff truce between the US and China.

The US Court of International Trade on Wednesday stated that President Donald Trump’s tariffs exceed his authority.

Whether the expected capacity injection on tap for June is enough to stem further rate increases remains unclear.

The Seoul-based carrier is teaming with Singapore’s PIL and X-Press Feeders on a new service that will be inaugurated from Tianjin on June 19.