Container lines

China’s $884 million March trade deficit has raised questions about the veracity of the country’s official figures.

CMA CGM will launch a new fixed-day weekly service on its Asia to Red Sea route, the REX 3 service, on May 2, in partnership with Evergreen Line.

APL will raise rates on its trade from Singapore to India, effective April 15.

Wan Hai Lines has unveiled its Wan Hai 516 vessel at an opening ceremony at CSBC Corp. Taiwan’s Kaohsiung shipyard.

Lynden, a group of freight transportation companies serving Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, has entered into a purchase agreement to buy Northland Services, a tug and barge carrier serving Seattle, Alaska and Hawaii.

Evergreen Line has adjusted its Greek Turkey Service, GTS, by adding a call at the Turkish port of Gebze.

The Panama Canal Authority is planning to implement a new system of tolls for the post-Panamax ships that will be able to transit the canal when it completes the enlargement project in 2015.

Scandlines announced record profits for 2012 on higher freight and passenger traffic on Baltic Sea routes as its co-owners prepare to sell one of Europe’s largest ferry operators.

OOCL has ordered 72 battery-powered Terex Gottwald automated guided vehicles, as well as fleet management software and a battery-changing station for the AGVs from Terex Port Solutions.

The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association has confirmed that exports of fresh fruit form Chile are back to normal, following labor action by dockworkers which interrupted port operations.

Only about 25 percent of non-vessel-operating common carriers today are making use of negotiated rate arrangements, an alternative to tariff filing, a survey finds.

The cost of Somali piracy to the global economy in 2012 dropped 13 percent year-over-year to about $6 billion, as navies and private armed guards stepped up their presence to prevent attacks...

Hapag-Lloyd will raise rates for all cargoes and container types on its trade from East Asia, excluding Japan, to the Persian Gulf, beginning May 15.

Hamburg Süd will hike rates for all cargo moving from the west coast of the U.S. and Canada to Australia and New Zealand, effective June 1.

Maersk Line will increase rates on some its trade routes in May...

INTTRA plans to roll out a series of new links on its e-commerce platform over the next few months that will enable customers to buy ancillary ocean shipment services, such as the cargo insurance link unveiled this week.

Hapag-Lloyd will introduce a new trans-Pacific service between Asia and the U.S. West Coast.

The city of Hamburg, Germany, is pushing for Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Süd to resume merger talks to increase its chances of surviving a four-year slump in the sector, according to a city official, Reuters reports.

Member carriers of the Caribbean Shipowners Association have postponed the rate increase scheduled for April 28 to June 16.

Sea Star Line has promoted Chris Willman to director of national field sales.

NYK Line will increase rates for all dry and refrigerated cargo on its southbound trade from the U.S. Gulf Coast to South America’s east coast and the Caribbean, starting May 10.

Hapag-Lloyd will increase rates for all cargoes and container types on its trade from East Asia, including Japan, to the Persian Gulf, starting May 15.

CMA CGM will increase rates on its trade from North Europe to the Far East, starting May 1.

The acquisition of Unifeeder by Nordic Capital announced today is likely to hasten consolidation of the North Sea and Baltic markets.

Nordic Capital has agreed to buy Unifeeder, Europe’s largest short-sea container line, from the U.K.’s Montagu Private Equity for an undisclosed price.

OOCL has announced that the OOCL Belgium container ship, which had previously suffered propeller damage and was sent to a dry dock in Bremerhaven, Germany, has been repaired and is ready for deployment back into the Gateway Express 1 service.

CSAV said it will prepay a $245 million loan at a 46 percent discount in another move signaling the financial turnaround of the Chilean ocean carrier.

United Arab Shipping Company will launch three trans-Pacific services from Asia to the U.S. Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest in cooperation with China Shipping Container Lines.

The board of directors of Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores has approved an investment plan of $570 million to acquire seven new container ships and to prepay $258 million of its debt.

Hackett Associates and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics’ latest Global Port Tracker study predicted that container handling in Europe’s North Range ports will increase a “meager” 1 percent in 2013...

Mediterranean Shipping Co. will launch an Ipanema service between Asia and South America’s east coast, as a result of the termination of a slot charter agreement with CSAV.

Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s sale of a 35 percent stake in its port operating arm Terminal Investments for just over $1.9 billion was good business for the Aponte family that owns the world’s second-largest ocean carrier. But it could turn out to be an even better deal for the purchaser, Global Infrastructure Partners.

There’s been no shortage of market-defining action in the first three months of 2013. Who's up and who's down?

Cosco will raise rates for all shipments on its eastbound trade from the Far East and Indian subcontinent to Canada, beginning May 1.

Hamburg Süd will boost rates on all cargo moving southbound from or via U.S. Gulf Coast ports to Colombia and South America’s west coast, starting May 1.

The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement’s expansion to include the Westbound Transpacific Stabilzation Agreement is set to take effect April 14, the carrier discussion groups’ executive administrator said.

Hapag-Lloyd has announced two rate increases for all dry, refrigerated, flat rack and open top containers that will take effect on May 1...

Mumbai-based Shreyas Shipping and Logistics announced plans to launch a container feeder service between India and Sri Lanka.