Container Shipping News

Events on the U.S. West Coast dominated on JOC.com this past week, as labor negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association could finally be heating up. Five of the Top 10 stories on JOC.com in the past week focused on the issue.

Efforts to convert the Nile River into a shipping lane for landlocked sub-Saharan African countries are meeting with hurdles two years after the concept was introduced.

The largest U.S. container ports are expected to see a final surge in imports, with shipments setting a monthly record in October, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Multiple container lines have planned general rate increases in numerous trade lanes in October and November, although any gains achieved could be temporary as overcapacity and sluggish global demand continue.

OOCL has unveiled low sulfur surcharges of up to $110 per 20-foot container for Europe-North America voyages to cover the extra cost of burning cleaner fuels in 2015.

Fears of a spot rate plunge on Asia-U.S. routes following China’s Golden Week holidays proved unfounded, suggesting carriers on the trade have managed to balance capacity against demand over the traditionally slow period.

Spot rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam on the World Container Index have dipped yet again, as prices on the lane dropped this week to the lowest in a year.

Shipowners operating in emission control areas are skirting the system with falsified fuel delivery slips and a variety of other tactics, Maersk Group says.

U.S. oil refiners want to eliminate the Jones Act’s U.S.-flag requirements for domestic shipping “for only one reason – so refiners can make even larger profits,” said Tom Allegretti, president of the American Waterway Operators

Maersk Line said its 2M east-west alliance with Mediterranean Shipping Co. will be launched in January following approval by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission in a 4-1 vote on Wednesday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists have intercepted another ship contaminated with Asian Gypsy Moth, this time in the Port of Honolulu. It’s the first time the destructive pest has been found at the Hawaiian port, and also the first time the unwanted guests were sourced to Taiwan.

With stricter Ebola screenings for airline passengers in the pipeline, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for intense health screenings on cargo ships from all Ebola-stricken countries.

Berth productivity on ships of 10,000 TEUs and higher edged upward globally in the first half of 2014 versus the same period last year, but saw wide variation depending on the region, according to JOC Port Productivity data.

OOCL and Yang Ming Line have upgraded their joint China-Pakistan Express (CPX) Service with the addition of a new call at Port Kelang, Malaysia, on the eastbound leg.

INTTRA, the e-commerce network for containerized ocean shipping, has identified the five fastest ocean carriers when it comes to electronic booking — those that respond to shipper e-booking requests most quickly.

The recovery in container shipping will be driven by the formation of new mega-alliances between carriers and further cuts in unit costs, rather than a rebalancing of supply and demand, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants.

Spot rates from Hong Kong to Los Angeles plateaued this week, highlighting three straight weeks of stability following a volatile September.

Carriers serving the trans-Pacific westbound trade from the U.S. to Asia will attempt to raise rates as of Nov. 1, arguing that rates currently “fall well below breakeven levels.”

Containerized exports from Asia to Europe and North America increased year-over-year in August, but spot rates in the Asia-to-Europe and North America trade lanes dropped, according to Container Trade Statistics.

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma are taking a bold step to improve the competitiveness of the Pacific Northwest gateway by unifying the planning, marketing and management of their marine cargo terminals and related functions under a single body.

In a recently issued paper, former Maersk executives Andy Lane and Charles Moret, now partners at Container Transport International Consultancy, say growing pressure from larger ships can be managed through improved collaboration among carriers and terminals.

Growth rate figures from the World Trade Organization appear to be an underestimation of growth in container volumes, and as a result, SeaIntel Maritime Analysis still expects global container demand growth to be 4 percent to 6 percent in 2014, despite downward revisions to WTO forecasts.

Bigger ships, and more of them, will be soon be able to call at the port of Tianjin after the Chinese government approved a plan to open up a larger portion of the port's waters to foreign cargo ships and add beths.

U.S. shippers expect volume growth through their supply chains over the coming year to be less than previously forecast, but they are ready to fork over far more money to ship freight as rates for nearly all modes rise.

Carriers are canceling sailings from Asia to Australia to deal with overcapacity and low vessel utilization rates, Drewry Maritime Research says.

Evergreen Line is offering a new container service in the intra-Asia trade through a slot-charter arrangement on the recently launched India-Far East Express service.

With piracy in West Africa on the rise, a newly released report highlights how pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea are far more violent than in Somalia and less-focused on ransom, requiring the industry to take a different approach to curb attacks.

The Shenzhen government could pay nearly all of the extra costs associated with switching to low-sulfur fuel while at berth in the city’s port as a result of a new government-sanctioned program.

“If it bleeds, it leads,” is a saying in the news industry that means bad news gets higher ratings than good news, and that rang true on JOC.com this past week.

U.S. imports of wooden bedroom furniture by dollar value have increased for four consecutive quarters, driven by an ongoing recovery in the real estate market and falling national unemployment numbers...

A coalition of soybean exporters urged the U.S. freight transportation industry Friday to invest in infrastructure, equipment and process improvements to maintain the role of the American farmer as the world’s preeminent supplier of soybeans.

In an effort to ease congestion at the Lagos Port Complex, Nigeria is looking into ways to encourage shippers to use the country's underutilized eastern ports more.

Multiple container lines have planned general rate increases in numerous trade lanes in October and November, although any gains achieved could be temporary as overcapacity and sluggish global demand continue.

CMA CGM has teamed up with Sri Lankan logistics group Hayleys Advantis to set up a shared service center in Colombo.

Germany’s Federal Court again delayed a final ruling on plans to deepen the navigation channels in the river Elbe to allow the port of Hamburg to handle the latest generation of mega-container ships.

Low ocean carrier rates are to blame for much of the congestion afflicting U.S. container ports, several ocean carriers and terminal operators said at a Federal MaritimeCommission hearing this week.

Spot rates from Asia to northern Europe in 2014 are nearly half of what they were a year ago, according to the World Container Index.

Mediterranean Shipping Co today announced the appointment of Diego Aponte, son of founder Gianluigi Aponte, as President and CEO of the world’s second largest ocean carrier.