Container lines

Yang Ming said the ships will be the first LNG dual-fuel container vessels in Taiwan to feature specifications allowing them to be converted to ammonia dual-fuel propulsion.

Outside of Cosco and OOCL, the new port fees will likely be a non-event for ocean carriers that have spent the summer rerouting Chinese ships away from the US.

Research reports published to coincide with London International Shipping Week say although progress is being made toward decarbonization in shipping, there are growing concerns the sector is falling behind in efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

The bump in spot rates that was driven by the Sept. 1 GRI and blanked sailings in the eastbound trans-Pacific appears to be over, with rates this week headed lower, according to forwarders.

The world’s largest container ship operator “proactively restructured” its US service network to mitigate any impact from the Trump administration’s new levies on Chinese ships, according to MSC CEO Soren Toft.

Strong demand and the resulting tightening of intra-Asia vessel capacity is lifting intra-Asia rates, a sharp contrast to falling spot pricing on both the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades.

Delivery of the fuel will begin immediately and build on a strategic collaboration Hapag-Lloyd established with Shell in 2023 to accelerate the decarbonization of its fleet.

The suspension of the TP9/WC6 service from Xiamen and Busan is the latest effort by carriers to stem declining container spot rates and adjusting capacity to softening demand.

The carrier said that network adjustments that began in April will allow it to eliminate the impact of new US port fees for ships built in China on its shipper customers while maintaining US port coverage.

The World Shipping Council’s fight to have the FMC revise a key aspect of OSRA-22 hinges on how far the agency’s regulatory power extends into freight rates.

Despite weakening supply-demand fundamentals, container vessel charter rates are rising and carriers are neither idling nor scrapping ships.

The Montreal Port Authority said permits are in the works for Contrecoeur’s underwater work, while DP World has signed on to design and operate the terminal.

The investment bank said non-Chinese carriers will largely avoid looming and escalating port fees, but Cosco and OOCL will be on the hook unless they adjust networks.

Suspension of the Pacific South 5 service comes as container lines are announcing more blanked sailings from Asia to the US in an attempt to boost spot rates ahead of China’s Golden Week.

Artificial intelligence will accelerate the new reality that ocean carriers make no secret of the fact that they are profit-making entities, writes Peter Tirschwell.

New data obtained by the Journal of Commerce from local freight forwarders indicates a downward shift of between $400 and $600 per standard dry container in FAK rate levels over the last two weeks.

The dismal outlook for the second half of the year is prompting Wall Street analysts to rein in earnings expectations as many carriers also report steep declines in their profit margins amid a mix of overcapacity and “tariff-driven cost escalation.”

Container lines offering regular calls at India’s busiest port have told customers the landside logjam is causing considerable supply chain risks for the trade as train turnarounds remain increasingly chaotic.

Ocean carriers are seeking to curb the sharp decline in spot rates in the run-up to next month’s Golden Week holiday.

The former NYK Line executive was a swashbuckling figure who epitomized an era of influential and charismatic US heads of European and Asian container lines — figures who dominated the US landscape with levels of authority that have long since given way to headquarter supremacy.

The carriers, because they offer services tailored to their customers’ needs, say they are “sheltered” somewhat from declining spot rates given they are able to charge a premium for those services.

The Chinese state-controlled carrier said in an interim earnings statement the industry experienced a volatile first half of 2025 due to “tariff swings and lingering geopolitical tensions.”

Tech services company WNS is being added as the Digital Container Shipping Association’s “execution arm” to embed standards into systems commonly used by carriers, forwarders and shippers.

Local freight forwarders who spoke with the Journal of Commerce have reported three upcoming blank calls out of West India through the first half of September in anticipation of lower cargo lifts.

Sentiment heard with greater frequency from within the industry and from financial analysts holds that overcapacity will overwhelm constraints on capacity in a possible multi-year swoon.

The Israeli carrier said it’s taking steps to comply with a purported ban on its ships at Turkish ports as relations between the two countries sour over the war in Gaza.

The unit cost of moving a container has been pushed higher compared with the prevailing pre-pandemic price structure, according to carrier executives, prompting cost-control measures.

The Premier Alliance is revamping a trans-Pacific service that would otherwise incur hundreds of millions of dollars in US port fees on Chinese-built vessels.

Fiori joined NYK Line (North America) in 1990 as executive vice president with a mandate to grow the newly formed liner agency and position it closer to US-based BCOs.

The announcement of Leatherman’s expansion comes as MSC looks to bring in more trans-Atlantic services to call the terminal.

The carrier said trans-Pacific services have been especially susceptible to the erosion of business and consumer confidence and the disruption to long-term planning caused by frequent shifts in US tariff policy.

Just over 7,000 TEUs of capacity is scheduled to be withdrawn through blank sailings in September even as carriers increase their deployed capacity by 2%.

With a global capacity surplus in the offing, or already biting, now is a great time to invest and move capacity off surplus trades, writes Jeremy Masters.

The difficulties have led to transshipment delays and rolled cargo, which have caused increased yard density at some ports that has exacerbated delays, shipping sources say.

The incident has sparked a wave of claim filings from individual shippers and state authorities against the world’s largest container carrier, resulting in arrest orders for as many as five sister ships thus far.

With 70% of its volume moving under spot rates, there was no escape from the volatile US-China tariff battle.

The upbeat results have led several carriers to invest in new tonnage, with vessels scheduled for delivery in 2027 and 2028.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is adding new calls to West Africa on its South Africa service as former alliance partner Maersk pulls out of direct services from the continent.

The Hong Kong-based JV will provide coordination, performance management and strategic oversight of all origin locations across Asia for members of the BCO group.

But the growing synergy and efficiencies of its Gemini network with Maersk are expected to generate significant savings over the next few quarters, CEO Rolf Habben Jansen says.