Container Shipping News

Seacor Holdings reported a net loss of $2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, including a loss from continuing operations of $8.3 million, dropping from a profit of $17.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Samudera Shipping reported a profit of $21.2 million for 2012, a decline of 23.8 percent from 27.8 million in 2011.

U.S. container trade with Asian countries reached nearly 17.8 million 20-foot-equivalent units in the first 11 months of 2012.

Analysts are hopeful that trade between Japan and China will improve gradually this year after a 2012 slump made far more painful by a territorial dispute over a group of islands in the East China Sea.

Pacific International Lines has been sentenced in U.S. federal court under the terms of a plea agreement that requires the Singapore-based container shipping company to pay $2.2 million in criminal penalties...

Maersk's introduction of the first of its colossal Triple E container ships later this year will set off a chain of events that will ripple throughout the shipping world, and especially in the trans-Pacific.

Industrial machinery is expected to be the top driver of U.S. export and import trade now and in the next decade, according to the latest HSBC Commercial Banking trade forecast.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. will increase rates on all cargo for the Cheetah service from any Asian port to South Africa, the Indian Ocean, Mozambique and East Africa, effective April.

Hamburg Süd will increase rates on all cargo on its trade from the Mediterranean to Mexico and the U.S. Gulf, starting April 1.

Eimskip has appointed Jan Felix Grossbruchhaus as senior manager in Germany, effective April 1.

The member lines of the Asia-West Africa Trade Agreement will increase rates on its Far East to West Africa westbound trade by $250 per 20-foot-equivalent unit, effective March 15.

Samskip has launched a new container shipping route for rural Iceland.

Brazilian firm Triunfo Participações e Investimentos reported container traffic in January was 49,414 20-foot-equivalent units, increasing 9.6 percent year-over-year from 45,102 TEUs.

Toyota will begin exporting U.S.-assembled Venza vehicles to Russia and Ukraine in 2013.

OOCL will hike rates on its trans-Atlantic trade, starting April 1.

SeaFreight Agencies has signed a long-term lease for a new 148,750 square foot facility for two affiliates at International Corporate Park in Doral, Fla., expanding from its current 50,000 square foot location, also in Doral.

Evergreen Line will increase rates for all commodities on its trade to Europe and the Mediterranean, effective April 2.

Rickmers Maritime today reported its profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $2.24 million, plummeting 80 percent from $11.33 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Container leasing companies say the trends that helped them achieve record profits in 2012 remain firmly in place for this year.

Weiss Röhlig has launched a weekly consolidation container service for loose cargo from Taiwan to Boston.

Jensen Maritime has completed the designs of two new tugboats and a deck barge for Harley Marine.

Hapag-Lloyd will upgrade the rotation of the Pacific Atlantic Express Service to include Qingdao, China; Xingang, China; and Pusan, South Korea.

“K” Line has upgraded its intra-Asia service with improved transit times and better coverage between Japan and the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Commercial Barge Line Company today reported profit was $20.8 million, improving from a net loss of $14.2 million in 2011. Annual revenue was $811.6 million, declining 4.9 percent from $852.9 million.

Maersk Line said a 30 percent hike in its reefer container freight rates, which provoked a storm of protest from shippers, has “largely been accepted” by the market.

Germany’s Port of Hamburg today reported that about 675,000 20-foot-equivalent unit containers were handled between Hamburg and Russian ports in 2012, increasing 13.3 percent year-over-year.

The container shipping industry is at a crossroads where cargo interests must choose between paying higher rates for value-added service, or contending with another round of consolidation as carriers merge to survive, according to an industry executive.

Ship Finance International today reported net income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $51 million, increasing 46 percent from $35 million in the third quarter of 2012.

NYK will restructure its Japan-Thailand-India service (HLS).

Maersk Line has added Hazira, India, as a port call on its Europe-Middle East service rotation to enhance direct coverage of India to and from the east Mediterranean.

Cosco Container Lines will increase rates on all shipments from the Far East and Indian subcontinent to Panama, the Caribbean (Venezuela, Columbia and Costa Rica) and Mexico, starting March 15.

APL will increase rates on all containers in its trade from India to Canada and the U.S., excluding Puerto Rico, effective March 15.

Neptune Orient Lines today reported a net loss of $98 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, improving 69 percent from a net loss of $320 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Imports into China are again set to rise this year after growth rates for container shipments and value of imports outstripped exports in 2012.

Hapag-Lloyd will increase rates for all cargoes and container types from East Asia, excluding Japan, to the Red Sea, by $500 per 20-foot-equivalent unit, effective March 15.