Maritime

MSC’s orders at two Chinese shipyards continue the carrier’s long association with Chinese shipbuilders, with the liner seemingly undeterred by US proposals to levy hefty port fees on Chinese-built ships.

US drayage truckers say costs and competition have been on the rise since the pandemic, while at the same time their pricing power is under downward pressure.

Bigger carriers have more services and transshipment hubs and are generally able to offer more efficient connecting services, although there is still room to prosper for small and midsize carriers, writes Jeremy Masters.

US shippers have pulled forward as much cargo as they can ahead of the latest deadlines for higher US tariffs, leaving carriers little choice but to cancel more voyages.

US retailers are, not surprisingly, importing only what is “absolutely necessary” given the frequent changes in new tariffs and tariff deadlines announced by the Trump administration, writes Lars Jensen.

Despite significant injections of reefer capacity in early 2025, US cold chain stakeholders say they continue to face equipment scarcity issues.

A bill reintroduced in the House of Representatives would require customs fees to be directed to covering building and other capital costs related to inspections.

With more ships expected to divert to the longer Cape of Good Hope route around southern Africa, shippers could find it more difficult to secure capacity for project cargoes.

The European automotive industry has been hammered by Washington’s import tariffs that are imposing a significant financial burden on the continent’s carmakers.

The National Association of Waterfront Employers has sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking for continued support of the $3 billion Clean Ports Program.

A strong midterm global outlook for wind farm development could be dampened by a lack of forward ship capacity to service the buildouts.

Container volumes handled by North Europe’s busiest port continue to grow, alongside the now critical need for more landside capacity.

The infrastructure fund that owns the Port of New York and New Jersey’s largest marine terminal is not looking to divest as it seeks to extend the term of its lease, according to people familiar with the talks.

The investigation centers on terminal service agreements that may have required container lines to commit to route a share of their cargo through Port Houston.

But the longer voyages are also seeing container shipping companies cutting the average fuel intensity per TEU mile and ensuring vessels are sailing full.

The project, due to begin Monday, will also improve truck access by upgrading the gate infrastructure and boost efficiency through the replacement of an outdated terminal operating system.

The decline came despite a 4.4% increase in total container volumes to 2 million TEUs, the carrier said in a quarterly update Friday.

Adoption of digital bills of lading has been stronger in Asia, but US traction is necessary to help container lines meet a 2030 commitment to fully move to electronic documents.

The Marseille-based liner has finalized operational plans to call off its remaining vessel-sharing agreements with the carriers after Gemini Cooperation-linked realignments.

The gathering will be closely watched by ocean carriers, shippers and container terminal operators in the US and Europe for signs that global unions are developing a coordinated cross-border “solidarity strike” strategy.

Trans-Pacific carriers are facing rapidly declining demand and freight rates on the trade lane as the frontloading that occurred during the 90-day pause on new US tariffs — now extended to Aug. 1 — has largely lost steam.

With two attacks on commercial vessels in recent days, including one that killed three mariners, any thought that the risk in the Red Sea was easing to the point the Suez route might be restored in the near future has vanished.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is furthering its lead in vessel tonnage so far this year as it absorbs more than double the amount of new capacity added by No. 2 carrier Maersk.

But the mini rush will be short-lived, with imports falling month to month between August and November, the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said in their latest Global Port Tracker.

The moves by CMA CGM were made to improve westbound transit times that remain a challenge due to ongoing vessel diversions around southern Africa.

In the latest course correction in the US’ busiest trade lane, carriers are set to deploy less tonnage in August as spot rates fall and retail import forecasts weaken.

The routing impasse between the railroads threatens supply chain disruptions for ocean carrier CMA CGM, which has cargo booked on the service that is due to begin later this week.

Beginning in September, the joint service will make added stops at Aarhus in Denmark, Gothenburg in Sweden and Rotterdam in the Netherlands as the last three European calls.

The just-concluded legislative session also puts aside emergency funding for the Port of Portland that is generated via lottery sales.

A plan to tax vehicle carriers $14 per net ton for each US port call will raise consumer costs and reduce the number of ports served, shipping executives warned Monday.

Instead of its 24,000-TEU ships making direct calls at West African ports, Hapag-Lloyd’s main Mediterranean hub is being used as a key transshipment point for Asia-Africa services.

Carriers are pulling back on their blanking campaigns on the Asia-ECSA lane in July after two months of blanking campaigns largely neutralized capacity additions to the lane.

The federal watchdog agency said the US Maritime Administration has financial levers to help the domestic shipbuilding industry but doesn’t know their effectiveness.

Longer transits around southern Africa, restructured alliance networks and bottlenecks in Asia continue to cause ships to arrive outside their scheduled European arrival windows.

The push and pull of US support for decarbonization efforts puts a question mark over potential project cargo demand.

While vessels on the lead West India-US East Coast networks have continued to sail full, forwarders have linked the “sold-out” experience to capacity cutbacks and consequent cargo rollovers.

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.