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The latest Breakbulk News News & Analysis

Container inquiries dropping for MPV sector: analysts

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

While the urgency of containers being carried on multipurpose/heavy-lift vessels is easing, the spillover market will continue to affect the MPV sector into 2023, analysts say.

Breakbulk carriers

Global ro/ro carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen names new CEO

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Lasse Kristoffersen, former CEO of bulk operator Torvald Klaveness, will take the helm of Wallenius Wilhelmsen

Ro/ro cargoBreakbulk carriers

Container 'spillover' into breakbulk market stabilizing

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Consolidation and a looming capacity shortage will shape the MPV sector once the spillover market has calmed.

Breakbulk carriers

Wallenius Wilhelmsen posts record Q3 profit despite volume decline

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

Elevated freight rates and strong high and heavy and breakbulk volumes boosted roll-on/roll-off carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s earnings even as vehicle volumes slide due to chip and parts shortages.

Rate gains in MPV/HL sector to slow: analysts

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Both shipper panic and carrier euphoria are calming as the breakbulk market becomes more predictable, albeit at higher rates.

Breakbulk carriers

Fuel prices, driver shortage cloud forecast for heavy-haul transport

Special Correspondent Chris Barnett |

New projects and those that had been delayed have begun moving, but the truck driver shortage and higher fuel costs could dampen a bright outlook for the US heavy-haul sector.

Heavy-haul transportTrucking News

MPV/HL demand rising, but growth to slow longer term: MSI

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

A strong short-term market is pushing MPV/HL demand, but carriers sense the market frenzy is abating.

Breakbulk carriers

Siemens Gamesa to build first US offshore wind blade plant

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Investments in the US' budding offshore wind industry are gaining momentum along the eastern seaboard, with Siemens Gamesa building the first US offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Virginia.

AAL orders four new heavy-lift ships

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

While the “spillover” container market that is driving up MPV rates and creating a capacity shortage will eventually dissipate, in the longer term a low orderbook could mean a capacity shortage, analyst Drewry says.

Breakbulk carriersProject cargo

Combi Lift launches forwarding division targeting smaller cargoes

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Combi Lift’s forwarding operation will organize the shipment of equipment components or individual pieces of equipment that would normally be too small to interest its projects division.

Driver shortage hampers heavy-haul trucking recovery

Chris Barnett, Special Correspondent |

Equipment costs and a lack of skilled drivers may undercut a bright forecast for heavy haul truckers as wind energy, industrial, and infrastructure projects ramp up.

MPV/HL charter rates up 137 percent since October 2020: Toepfer

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

The spillover market will not dissipate until box rates dip below five figures, according to Geodis' senior VP for global ocean freight.

Breakbulk carriers

Growing share of US imports arriving on MPV/HL ships amid capacity crunch

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Skyrocketing demand is pushing imports into the US toward MPV/HL and other non-container carriers in a wave of spillover cargo.

Breakbulk carriers

MPV/HL market shifts toward longer-term commitments

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

In a change from long-held norms, earlier contracting is becoming more standard in the breakbulk and project market as cargo shippers labor to secure capacity and reduce risk and price volatility.

Project cargoBreakbulk carriers

Höegh Autoliners orders eco-friendly Aurora-class car carriers

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

Oslo-based Höegh’s latest order for vehicle carriers comes amid growth in imports of China-made vehicles at European ports.

Ro/ro cargoBreakbulk carriers

Lack of visibility dampens long-term ro/ro outlook: UECC

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

While the ro/ro market booms thanks to high consumer demand and spillover container cargo, soaring vessel costs and an ongoing chip shortage add risk.

High and heavy cargoes push up European ro/ro volumes

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

Ro/ro carriers are adding capacity and ordering ships as Brexit snarls supply chains and complicates European labor shortages.

Chip shortage puts ro/ro volumes at risk

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Car dealers are "screaming" for inventory, but COVID-19 shutdowns and a snarled semiconductor supply chain are throwing up obstacles to production.

Despite climbing MPV/HL rates, shipping boom ‘finite’: Drewry

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Container shippers are increasingly switching to breakbulk solutions to move their cargo, pushing MPV/HL bookings into the fall and driving up rates.

Breakbulk carriers

New approaches needed to stamp out breakbulk pests

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Controlling dangerous wood-boring pests in wood packaging material will require more consistent enforcement across the US and helping the private sector learn how to look for these pests themselves.

Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsMaritimeBreakbulk carriersBreakbulk ports

MPV market tightens further amid rush for capacity: Toepfer

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Forward bookings are becoming the norm as some MPV/HL carriers require premiums for laycan dates, and a dearth of newbuildings in the sector implies that the current market will not slow down in the short term.

Breakbulk carriers

Ro/ro volumes rising on machine tool demand, container ‘spillover’

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

Booming demand for machine tools and other breakbulk and high and heavy cargo boosted ro/ro carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s volumes during the second quarter.

Container chaos driving demand for Antonov capacity

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Shippers eager to move computer components, semiconductor chips, and auto production parts are eating up super-heavy air capacity even as demand for traditional OOG cargo improves.

Breakbulk carriersAir Cargo

Seajacks purchase gives Eneti world’s largest wind installation fleet

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Eneti, formerly known as Scorpio Bulkers, is accelerating its transition from bulk carrier to offshore wind specialist with the acquisition of Seajacks International and its fleet of five wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs).

Energy projects

MPV/HL rates to maintain upward momentum: analysts

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Spillover container cargo is driving the strongest breakbulk market in more than a decade, MPV/HL carriers say.

Breakbulk carriers

MOL orders four LNG-fueled car carriers

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

MOL’s order for LNG-fueled car carriers shows that ro-ro newbuildings are stacking up as the sector pivots toward lower-carbon and next-generation fuels.

Ro/ro cargoBreakbulk carriers

US Wind to build 1.2 GW off Maryland coast

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

A Maryland developer has committed to building a 1.2 GW offshore wind project and a multi-million-dollar monopile manufacturing facility.

Energy projects

AI and algorithms taming project cargo logistics

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Project network EPN and digital shipping platform Shipnext are working together to reduce the chronic data overload that comes with project shipping.

Project cargoLogistics Technology News

Spillover container cargo pushing up breakbulk rates

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

As desperate shippers search for cargo solutions and sop up breakbulk capacity, the new MPV/HL sentiment index reveals strong short-term confidence but longer-term wariness in the breakbulk sector.

Breakbulk carriers

Breakbulk volume recovery triggers CBP invasive pest violations

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

After a COVID-19 pandemic lull, violations of ISPM 15 regulations around dangerous insects are increasing in Houston and elsewhere, triggering costly remedies and intense frustration in the breakbulk and project cargo community.

Project cargoBreakbulk ports

Breakbulk volume recovery triggers CBP invasive pest violations

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

After a COVID-19 pandemic lull, violations of ISPM 15 regulations around dangerous insects are increasing in Houston and elsewhere, triggering costly remedies and intense frustration in the breakbulk and project cargo community.

Wallenius Lines inks deal for vehicle carrier newbuilds

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

The new ships will be capable of using liquefied natural gas, liquefied biogas, and synthetic diesel, with an option for battery power, according to Wallenius Marine.

DOT grant helps push South Jersey Port wind projects

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

The Port of Salem, New Jersey, has been awarded a $9 million federal infrastructure grant to help meet offshore wind logistics and manufacturing requirements.

Energy projects

Container chaos pushes ‘decontainerized’ cargo to breakbulk sector

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

MPVs are booked through the summer, but improving charter rates are not yet sufficient to support newbuildings, analysts say.

Breakbulk carriers

Consumer spending boosts recovering ro/ro market

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Leading US East and Gulf coast gateways for automobiles and other ro/ro cargoes posted major year-over-year percentage increases in tonnage during the first few months of 2021, wiping out the declines that US ports saw in early 2020.

Cadeler orders two wind turbine installation vessels

Special Correspondent Keith Wallis |

Oslo-based offshore wind specialist Cadeler is investing $651 million in new turbine installation vessels as the global offshore wind industry gains traction.

Energy projects

Global semiconductor shortage threatens ro/ro recovery

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Despite higher costs to move automobiles and high and heavy cargoes, and uncertainties related to the COVID‑19 pandemic that continue to challenge the recovery, demand is rebounding quickly.

Breakbulk carriers flexing pricing power in volatile market

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Rising freight rates and prices for raw industrial materials have shippers scrambling to rework budgets and adjust procurement strategies and project schedules.

Low MPV orderbook presages looming capacity crunch

Peter Tirschwell |

Just like the container segment, the MPV sector has been short on capacity in the last several months, but unlike on the container side, no major vessel reinvestment program has begun on the MPV side.

Breakbulk NewsMaritime

Ambitious US offshore wind goals face regulatory, logistics hurdles

Chris Barnett, Special Correspondent |

The Biden administration’s embrace of offshore wind energy generation in the United States means development on an opening round of offshore wind projects on the eastern seaboard will soon be getting underway.

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