Container Shipping News

Global volume data shows a slowing of the container shipping market, and a new forecast does not expect any strengthening of demand this year.

Importers in the US are finding higher volumes on the westbound trans-Atlantic are coming with soaring rate levels and record-low schedule reliability, with little relief in sight.

HMM will provide North America shippers with a way to book spot container freight by the end of 2022, joining its peers in THE Alliance.

South Korea’s shipowners’ association said penalties imposed by regulators would damage the country’s link to the global supply chain and lead large foreign carriers to avoid South Korean ports.

While MSC’s move is the first known case of new general rate increases, industry sources believe other major carriers active in the India-US trade, notably Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM, will follow suit.

Member states expressed concern over the equitable use of the R&D funds as well as fair and equal access to any patents and technologies that would be created.

A new report is putting hard figures to the costs of high demand, port congestion, and the resulting increase in inventories.

Container line Hapag-Lloyd has settled with the Federal Maritime Commission over improperly charging detention to a California drayage carrier in mid-2021, a bellwether case in the long-running issue of free time fee assessments.

Forwarders say they expect an earlier-than-usual peak season that will lift trans-Pacific spot rates that have been easing, but the trimming of retail orders and front-loading of cargo cloud the longer-term outlook for the health of Asian imports.

Trans-Pacific container lines are adding capacity ahead of an expected early peak season, but blank sailings will continue to challenge North American importers even as Shanghai reopens.

CMA CGM revealed significant gains in revenue and profits for the first quarter, but was quick to point out the challenges it will face through the balance of the year.

Carriers have attempted to improve the supply/demand scenario across Indian trades by scaling up empty container repositioning and adding new services.

Logistics software provider Freightos is being taken public on the Nasdaq, a move that will be closely scrutinized by the founders and investors of growth-stage technology providers in the logistics industry.

Given that cargo flow into the US is currently getting worse, not better, any reduction in port congestion will take until late this year to arrive, if not longer, according to ocean carriers and forwarders.

ONE’s order of 10 new ships designed to run on alternative fuels is part of the Singapore-based carrier’s $20 billion plan to overhaul its fleet.

Global shipping schedule reliability was relatively unchanged in April, with two-thirds of container ships arriving late or too early for their port berth windows.

The drive to decarbonize the maritime industry has gained a foothold in Asia with the forming of a Lloyd’s Register-backed fuel transition alliance.

Thailand-based Regional Container Lines is adding a new intra-Asia service out of Ho Chi Minh starting June 22, following the recent trend of expanded capacity to and from Indian ports in response to sustained demand.

With importers taking longer to pick up their containers from overflowing terminals at hub ports in North Europe, ship delays are increasing, particularly for the largest vessels serving the Asia–Europe trade.

US retail spending is increasing despite inflationary pressures, while bookings and port volumes remain strong, suggesting the inventory warnings of Walmart and Target have not hit the larger retail industry yet.

Major carriers are skipping port calls and changing around schedules for services into Canada and the US East Coast amid high congestion and vessel delays.

Walmart remained atop the list of the 100 largest US importers by a wide margin in 2021, while Koch Industries retained the No. 1 export spot.

Profits reaped by carriers during the COVID-19 pandemic will result in greater strategic differentiation among carriers, while tensions with China could cause shippers to rethink their reliance on the world’s manufacturing hub.

The container ship orderbook currently stands at 26.7 percent of the global fleet, with much of the new capacity to be delivered in 2023 and 2024, but carriers have no intention of allowing the additional supply to undermine rates and profitability.

Executives say Zim will use its record quarterly profits to pay shareholder dividends, purchase new ships, and possibly to acquire a regional intra-Asia line, if the right opportunity arises.

Intra-Asia carriers are posting record first-quarter profits, stepping into a profitable void left by mainline carriers who redeployed capacity to more lucrative east-west trades.

Fresh Del Monte is offering slots and logistics services to other companies as the fresh produce shipper sees an opportunity to use six new vessels to drive logistics services.

Hapag-Lloyd's sensor initiative is aimed at maximizing the use of its container fleet in an environment where global port congestion has reduced the number of turns each box makes on an annual basis.

Top carriers operating out of India have revived no-show container fees, which range between $100 and $400 per box but can go as high as $1,000 for low-volume spot customers.

Reefer equipment for European exporters is in short supply as the refrigerated shipments compete for carrier attention with less complex and higher-priced dry containers.

Container line earnings continue to hit record highs for the first quarter, with HMM the latest carrier to report a highly profitable start to the year.

Uncertainty surrounding the timing and speed at which Shanghai’s logistics sector will fully reopen after COVID lockdowns is making it difficult for US shippers and forwarders to plan for the second half of the year.

With elevated contract rates already locked in, Hapag-Lloyd says a deteriorating spot market will not be enough to prevent another year of record profitability for the carrier.

There is ample evidence that shippers during the COVID-19 pandemic have torn up the supply chain playbook that served them effectively for years, but questions remain over whether those changes will be permanent.

The share of US imports from China compared to all Asia imports plunged roughly 6 percentage points between February and April amid COVID-19 lockdowns in Shenzhen and Shanghai.

The presence of container shippers at JOC’s recent breakbulk conference shows that while global container volumes are slowing, plenty of logistics managers are concerned enough about future capacity on US trades.

US retailers are moving shipments forward in a bid to build inventories before inflation drives prices too high and weakens consumer spending.

China’s COVID lockdowns, the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices, and declining global container volumes are muddying the trade outlook waters this year.

California’s two senators are pushing ocean carriers to provide more export containers to stem billions of dollars in losses they say the state’s agricultural industry has suffered recently.

Amid heightened scrutiny from Washington, US regulators want the three major container shipping alliances to report more detailed information on pricing and capacity deployment on services in which they share slot capacity.