Container shipping

Savannah attracted the new service due to its growing third-party logistics network and proximity to East Coast and Midwest markets, allowing for quicker and fresher imports.

The phased implementation of Europe’s emissions trading system on the shipping industry beginning next year will generate significant costs for carriers that will be passed on to customers in the form of new charges.

Shippers more than tripled their formal complaints in fiscal year 2022, emboldened by the maritime regulator’s sharpened focus on how ocean carriers interact with their customers.

Signaling some growth expectations, Indian container volumes saw gains in August, hitting 1.9 million TEUs, up 14% from 1.7 million TEUs a year earlier.

Carriers appear reluctant to make the drastic capacity reductions required to match supply with demand on the westbound trade lane, leaving rates far below pre-pandemic levels.

The decision to suspend a service outright may represent a new leg down in terms of ship capacity, which is expected to grow sharply this year and next.

Ocean carriers on the busy trade lane plan to slash deployed capacity to match falling demand levels that typically follow China’s Golden Week holiday at the start of October.

Carrier executives and others say the draft limitations imposed due to a shortage of rainfall are creating a more difficult economic rationale for the so-called all-water route to the East Coast of North America.

Much criticism has been leveled at the digital forwarding model, but steep declines in topline revenue during a year of weak demand are a sign that digital forwarders have had trouble differentiating themselves from the pack.

The two carriers will work together to develop alternative fuel standards, scale up the production of green fuel and ensure its supply at key bunkering ports around the world.

The top four US ports, which accounted for 68.2% of US imports from Asia through August, experienced greater than 20% declines in Asian imports in the first eight months of 2023 whereas imports through Houston, the dominant port on the Gulf Coast, declined only 3.7%.

West Coast ports are bearing the brunt of a steep decline in US agriculture exports, as are carriers such as CMA CGM that pivoted to serving exporters amid weaker import demand.

Small onboard nuclear reactors could ultimately be the lowest-cost method of decarbonization as shipping competes with other thirsty industries for sustainable net-zero fuels, according to energy and investment analysts.

Owning and operating potential supply chain chokepoints is a competitive advantage, and we should expect to see major carriers — flush with cash post-pandemic — be very active in attempting to secure such assets, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

The carrier’s commitment to bring an additional 1 million TEUs per year across HHLA’s wharves in Hamburg if it wins a bid for almost half the company will come as an attractive sweetener for the terminal operator.

Although importers can look forward to paying low freight rates at least into 2024 due to weak volumes and significant overcapacity in the trans-Pacific, aggressive capacity reductions through blank sailings will disrupt service levels, this week’s IANA conference was told.

The Indamex 2, the weekly loop touted as the fastest connection between western India and the US East Coast, is set to see a 50% capacity reduction for loads out of India this month.

Estes Forwarding Worldwide, a subsidiary of the LTL trucking provider, is buying Superior Brokerage Services, a step that increases Estes’ ability to offer end-to-end logistics services as other providers look to do the same.

Richard White said in an interview with the Journal of Commerce the logistics industry is stuck in a pattern of tackling small problems instead of viewing international trade as a large, connected system.

Washington is urging NVOs and forwarders to “know their customer,” a steep challenge for co-loaders who bundle multiple shipments for multiple customers into a single container, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The gains in spot rates for ocean freight are eroding again as US importers see little need to book more space ahead of the holiday shopping season.

The carrier aims to increase capacity by more than half at the Staten Island terminal it took over as part of its acquisition of Global Container Terminals’ US assets.

The carrier has made a cash offer to acquire just under 50% of HHLA in a deal that will significantly expand its terminal and intermodal reach.

The bids would require carriers to quote a negotiated “green premium” that cargo owners would pay to transport the containers on ships powered by zero-carbon fuels.

As many have observed in disparaging the notion of a “digital” forwarder, of which Flexport was the prototype, forwarding at its core is a business of people solving real-world problems for which there is not — and probably never will be — a technology solution, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The new allegation against Yang Ming comes less than a week after the carrier settled a dispute with another US importer, also over allegations it failed to honor vessel capacity commitments.

Sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine continue to limit the attractiveness of transport times as low as 12 days offered by forwarders on the China-North Europe rail network.

Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen refused to pin the blame for the company’s abrupt change in leadership on waning freight demand, saying the forwarder “has been through worse macro environments.”

The head of terminal operator SSA Marine says ports along the US Gulf and Southeast have a strong cost advantage over the West Coast that is fueling their growth, with that gap only expected to widen.

Although the ITS terminal in Long Beach lost two major services in less than a year, the facility will remain open while it attempts to find customers to make up for the volume shortfall in the ongoing down market.

Facing an operating loss of up to $500 million for 2023, Zim hopes the sharing arrangement with its larger competitor will help drive efficiencies “amidst continued near-term headwinds.”

The agreement involves the latest in a series of alternative fuel products being rolled out by major ocean carriers and global forwarders as regulators tighten emissions controls.

A difference of opinion over Flexport’s strategic shift toward fulfillment aimed at small businesses has prompted CEO Dave Clark to depart the company only a year after he came aboard.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with countries protecting their shipping interests, but there are always ripple effects on the commercial side that benefit some stakeholders and disadvantage others, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

The German-based forwarder remains the largest and most attractive takeover target in a cash-rich industry where the main players are all looking for opportunities to consolidate.

The regional air quality board is pushing back against what it says is “grossly inaccurate rhetoric” from transport interests who say a cap on Southern California cargo volumes may be on the horizon.

Development of trade finance tools for small and medium-sized shippers continues to grow, evidenced by OOCL Logistics launching a trade finance platform with fintech provider Stenn.

Sailing schedules showed delays of up to five days on some services due to the typhoons, including one that hit the coast of southern China Tuesday after sweeping across Taiwan at the weekend.

The spot market from North Europe to the US East Coast continues to weaken and lackluster attempts by carriers to withdraw capacity are having little effect on balancing supply and demand.

Digitalizing the most important document in global trade is a vital step toward a more efficient and secure paperless container shipping industry.