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Container Shipping News

The latest container shipping news and analysis of ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, technology solutions and end-to-end connectivity. Coverage includes the movement of containerized cargo handled by marine terminals and container ports, depots, container lines, drayage, consignees, importers and shippers, forwarders, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and off-dock warehousing providers. The Journal of Commerce's container shipping news includes news from the trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, North America-Caribbean, Central and South America trades, and intra-Asia trades.

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The latest Container Shipping News News & Analysis

ONE readies India-US East Coast service as part of 2024 network rollout

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The carrier is looking to expand beyond its two current services jointly offered with other liners with a standalone service meant to take advantage of the growing shift in sourcing from India.
Container linesContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

Ashcroft Terminal to expand railcar storage to alleviate Vancouver congestion

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The project, in coordination with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, is due to be completed in late 2024 and will help move cargo faster through Western Canada.
North-American railTrans-PacificNorth American portsPort infrastructure

Virginia’s resins export market gets boost with new $60 million investment

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The Norfolk expansion plans from resin logistics specialist Katoen Natie come as more plastics production is going onstream in the Northeast US.
North American portsContainer Shipping News

Sharp rise in Asia-Europe Q3 volumes discounted by last year’s import slump

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
On its own, the growth in container volumes on Asia to Europe trade lanes in the third quarter was impressive, but it compares with the steep slowdown in imports last year by overstocked retailers.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesAsia-Europe

Soft US import volumes crimping container availability for agricultural exports

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
With peak season at hand for ag exports, shippers say weak US import volumes have constrained the supply of repositioned containers they need to send goods overseas, risking disruption to their supply chains.
MaritimeContainer linesNorth American portsNorth-American rail

Maersk inks new methanol sourcing deal with Chinese supplier

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
The carrier’s largest alternative fuel deal to date will be enough to drive half the methanol-powered ships on its orderbook.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer lines

Carriers weigh options as Panama Canal restrictions become a fact of life

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The soonest the Panama Canal Authority says it could see significant relief is 2028, raising the possibility of persistent drought restrictions and reduced container capacity and transits until then, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Container linesMaritimeContainer Shipping NewsTrans-Pacific

UN climate conference comes amid shipping’s choppy path to decarbonization

Peter Tirschwell |
Despite some pockets of progress, exactly how container shipping achieves decarbonization will likely remain an unanswered question until new zero-emission fuel standards are adopted, writes Peter Tirschwell.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

 Congress steps into debate over jurisdiction of rail fees for ocean containers

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Draft legislation would also seek to codify that rail demurrage fees be billed to the ocean carrier, which would then pass along the charge to the responsible shipper or BCO. .
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesIntermodal providersNorth-American rail

UK watchdog calls for end to ocean carrier antitrust immunity

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
Just a month after the European Commission announced that the block exemption regulation for carriers would not be renewed next April, the UK competition authority has also called for it to lapse upon expiry.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

CMA CGM commits €100 million to new Paris-based AI research lab

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
CMA CGM is moving beyond funding and supporting startups with a hefty investment into a non-profit lab designed to improve data models that feed into artificial intelligence products.
Container linesContainer Shipping NewsLogistics Technology News

November rate plunge negates carrier pricing activity on India-Europe trade

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent |
Still, the latest Indian trade data presents some hopeful signs for supply chain stakeholders, as the country's merchandise exports grew 6.3% by value year over year in October, the fastest rate of expansion in a year.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesInternational ports

No easy fix on horizon for Panama Canal woes as shipping sector scrambles

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
Carriers, shippers and logistics executives may have to get accustomed to drought-related restrictions along the critically important waterway, with costly water-saving infrastructure improvements years away.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-Pacific

US imports from Asia hit 2023 high in October despite muted peak season

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
While October is typically one of the busiest months of the year for West Coast ports, the region’s market share of imports from Asia slipped markedly from September, but carrier executives said that was an anomaly linked to capacity cuts in the eastbound trans-Pacific.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsTrans-PacificNorth American ports

Grim 2024 outlook drives Zim to take huge Q3 impairment loss

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
The carrier is expecting next year to be dominated by significant overcapacity and weak demand, and with its balance sheet awash with expensive time charter capacity, it decided to factor in expected losses early.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer lines

Shippers remain slow to embrace more expensive green shipping services

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
Carriers are reporting some successes in convincing shippers to use their emissions-reduction services, but acceptance of premium — and costly — green products remains a hard sell in a market where rate levels are at record lows.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-AtlanticAsia-Europe

Rate spread between US East-West coasts erodes amid shifts in volume, sourcing

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The long-standing spread, typically about $1,000, is now half that as volume growth returns to West Coast ports and shippers increasingly tap into Southeast Asia manufacturing.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Deadline looming for IMO’s ‘single window’ data-sharing platform

Peter Shaw-Smith, Middle East contributor |
The International Maritime Organization voted in May 2022 to implement the so-called Maritime Single Window from the start of 2024 in a bid to accelerate digitalization in shipping.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesInternational portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Forward Air formally moves to terminate Omni Logistics merger

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
The expedited less-than-truckload provider has asked a Delaware court to let it kill the controversial deal that has caused its share price to plummet and raised the ire of activist investors.
SurfaceForwardingTrucking NewsLTL

Taiwan's major container lines see nine-month profits plunge amid market downturn

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
Yang Ming said the imbalance between vessel supply and cargo demand, high inflation and geopolitical risks will be among the factors pressuring the ocean market into 2024.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificAsia-Europe

Seaboard Marine includes Wilmington in new Central America service

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The direct service that kicks off at the end of the month will add further options to transport apparel, textiles, poultry, pork and agricultural products between Central America and the US East Coast.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsCool Cargoes News

Cargo operations partially resume after cyberattack hits DP World Australia

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
The incident comes as dockworkers announced a further series of strikes this week at DP World's four Australian terminals in an ongoing row over new rostering arrangements.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminalsLongshore laborInternational ports

India's Adani secures big US investment for Colombo container terminal project

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent |
The move holds considerable significance as it comes amid accelerated efforts by India and the US to boost bilateral ties at multiple levels.
Container Shipping NewsInternational ports

Deteriorating ocean market hits CMA CGM’s third-quarter earnings

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
The carrier remains profitable, but rate levels maintained their downward trend as the global economic slowdown continued to weigh on the container shipping industry.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer lines

Carbon tax needed to spur real action on maritime emissions

Peter Tirschwell |
Despite public commitments by some 4,000 companies globally to reduce Scope 3 emissions, ocean shippers have thus far been unwilling to pay higher-than-market freight rates to achieve those goals.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Container market shows ‘no encouraging signs’ of recovery: HMM

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
The South Korean carrier ‘s financial results followed the industry’s downward trend and although HMM remains profitable, it is not far above the loss-making line.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer lines

Rising marine terminal charges stir ire of Australian shipper groups

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
DP World Australia plans to hike terminal access charges by up to 50% at its four terminals in the country from Jan. 1.
Container Shipping NewsMarine terminalsInternational ports

ILA looking for local ports to bring in more union foremen

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Alongside broader talks on wages for its members, the International Longshoremen’s Association said individual ports need to use more union supervisors and foremen, particularly throughout the South.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Crashing trans-Atlantic spot rates delay long-term contract signing

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
Carriers and shippers, however, believe there is little room left to fall for spot rates that are already below pre-pandemic levels.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-Atlantic

Hapag-Lloyd prioritizes costs as rates, earnings plummet

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
The carrier has followed its peers with a sharp decline in earnings, and although still highly profitable, its CEO warned that rates on the east-west trade lanes are at unsustainable levels.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificAsia-Europe

Weak US imports via Western Canada reveal BC port challenge

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The cracks in the gateway’s attractiveness to importers and exporters out of the US Midwest were showing before this July’s work stoppage and the decline in import demand across North America.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth-American rail

ILA, USMX remain at odds over dockworker wage increases: Daggett

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The ILA president says further progress on a new master contract, as well as port-specific local deals, can’t happen until the two sides agree on coastwide pay hikes.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminals

Zim reinstates China-US fast ship service to target e-commerce demand

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
US e-commerce imports are filling much of the available air cargo capacity out of China, spurring the ocean carrier to bring back an expedited service it was forced to mothball eight months ago.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-Pacific

India-US cargo flow buffeted by blank sailings, sliding schedule reliability

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent |
On top of the sailing cuts, some recent vessel arrivals at India have been behind schedule by up to a week, resulting in cargo rollovers, according to forwarder sources.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesInternational ports

Carrier consolidation, NVO competition weigh on shipper association growth

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Shipper associations that struggled to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic because there was no extra capacity to sell are now trying to convince shippers of the benefits of rate stability.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesForwarding

Hamburg terminal operator HHLA accepts MSC’s offer for ownership stake

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
While the carrier will not hold the controlling share, expanding its presence in Hamburg will cement MSC’s terminal operating position in Europe’s third-largest container shipping port.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesPort NewsMarine terminalsInternational ports

ONE finalizes terminal deals in Los Angeles, Oakland, Rotterdam

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
The Singapore-based carrier has now expanded its access to capacity in the strategic locations of the US West Coast, North Europe and Southeast Asia.
Port NewsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American portsInternational ports

ILA's Daggett raises possibility of 2024 strike at US East, Gulf coast ports

Peter Tirschwell |
Ahead of an International Longshoremen’s Association conference, president Harold Daggett has warned union rank-and-file to be prepared for the “possibility of a coast-wide strike.”
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Delaware’s planned Edgemoor terminal gets grant from US port funding program

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Along with the grant for the Port of Wilmington’s proposed container terminal, Tacoma and Long Beach received grants for improving truck and rail access, respectively.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Falling backhaul Europe-Asia rates ‘subsidizing’ eastbound freight moves

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
With weak demand for European imports in Asia and ample vessel capacity, spot rate levels on the backhaul trade are in freefall.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesForwardingAsia-Europe