Container Shipping News

A pledge by Houthi militants to focus ship attacks on Israel-linked vessels is not enough to encourage ocean carriers to end their diversions around Africa and return to transits via the Suez Canal.

A new report from the Biden administration alleges that Beijing has a poor compliance record with the WTO, practices duplicitous trade policies that give the country unfair advantages, and operates with an overall lack of transparency.

The question is not whether the market will be strong in the first quarter, but rather how high rates will climb, writes analyst Richard Bright.

The moves by Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM come amid uncertainty about the outlook for the intra-Asia trade, with one analyst suggesting a possible rate war could see prices in the region tumble if there is no summer peak season.

The peace deal in Gaza is highlighting the capacity overhang facing container shipping once vessels absorbed by the longer voyages around southern Africa return to the shorter route via the Red Sea and Suez.

A handful of companies unveiled new products in the last week intended to enable decision-making based off the visibility data they provide.

The pricing move means a general rate increase planned by carriers for Jan. 15 will not be implemented, forwarders say, because demand is not sufficient to support another boost.

The carrier said its ability to capture market share was directly linked to a shift in trade dynamics as mainline operators outsourced intra-regional services to more agile operators.

The twin complaints to the FMC charge that several ocean carriers pushed the shippers into paying surcharges and premium rates totaling $5.5 million, while creating another $76 million in added spot market costs.

Multiple forwarder sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce confirmed that the portal booking specifics are still unavailable for February voyages from India to Europe.

The uncertainty surrounding the Red Sea was highlighted by member OOCL, and although the carrier provided both an around-Africa option and a version via the Suez, it said the Africa diversions will continue until further notice.

The decline reflects the wider slide in container freight rates from August, which accelerated in October and November as cargo demand eased.

The carrier’s top-line financials are a clear signal that container shipping is firmly back in profitable territory following a poor end to 2023 that left several carriers nursing losses.

A confluence of factors, including vessel bunching at Asian load ports and a pre-Lunar New Year cargo surge, have combined to cause congestion at the port and reduce its railcar availability.

With the threat of a US port strike averted, the transition to new global service networks will not be accompanied by widespread disruption, the analyst believes.

While the draft language of the tentative agreement was not disclosed, the two sides said the deal includes language that covers the contentious issue of port automation and new technologies.

With shippers under pressure to finalize production plans with Asian factories amid ongoing vessel diversions around Africa and elevated rates, there is little point in delaying the signing of annual contracts.

Local freight forwarders believe any extra capacity entering the Indian market from smaller ship operators working around an “opportunistic approach” has the potential to spoil rate recovery efforts by large carriers.

Carriers adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to the new regulation will face significant penalties and a potential loss of income from decarbonization-focused customers, according to a report from the classification society.

Whereas 2024 was a banner year for US West Coast ports, the pendulum could swing back to East and Gulf coast ports in 2025.

The IMO tends to move at a glacial pace, but with 2030 emissions targets looming, it no longer has that luxury.

The charges come as spot rates for ex-Asia cargo into the US have climbed sharply over the past month.

The deal will see Acuitive Solutions’ AcuAudit product integrated into Cass’ freight audit and payment platform, one widely used by large shippers.

Shippers moving cargo on the inter-Americas lane can expect to see further volume growth in 2025, potentially reflected by increased attention and capacity from carriers.

While the two sides have come to terms on wages, formal negotiations have stalled since mid-November as the union and maritime employers remain stuck on what provisions the deal will include about port automation.

Shanghai and Ningbo are dealing with “serious” congestion, according to a forwarder, while labor shortages in Hamburg are causing berthing delays of up to 10 days.

In addition to any vessel backlogs resulting from a second potential ILA strike on Jan. 15, a major test for East Coast marine terminals will be their ability to handle the revamped carrier networks debuting in early 2025.

The world has become more turbulent and fragmented, with geopolitical events that are beyond the control of any supply chain participants playing an ever-larger role, writes Lars Jensen.

Rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific are surging to peak-season levels as US retailers rush to ship merchandise before many factories in Asia close during the holiday celebrations that begin on Jan. 29.

Most US retailers say they have frontloaded sufficient inventory from Asia to get them through the first quarter, but planning import volumes and supply chains beyond that point remains problematic.

Extended voyages around southern Africa are currently tying up both refrigerated equipment and vessel capacity, making reefer shippers particularly vulnerable to disruptions.

Despite a glut of capacity on the water, Suez Canal diversions and healthy volumes will keep container shipping vessel supply tight, analysts predict.

With volumes likely to increase again in 2025, new port infrastructure across the region should help maintain fluidity throughout the coming year.

The market’s normal tranquility is threatened by President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to raise imports tariffs, as well as a potential second strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association.

Industry observers believe carriers on the trade lane could struggle to manage the huge influx of capacity, thus forcing them to undercut each other on pricing to maximize loadings.

Carriers have penciled in a return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the second half of the year, and some analysts are also using that as a baseline for their market outlooks, but the reality is that no one knows.

Container shipping has become a market where prior patterns of cyclicality must now coexist with non-cyclical forces of external shocks that long-beleaguered carriers have learned to use to their advantage, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The vessels will vary in size between 8,000 TEUs and 15,000 TEUs and are likely meant for deployment on the carrier’s longer-haul intra-Asia and mainline east-west services.

Bills introduced in the House and Senate seek to expand the US-flag international fleet from the current level of about 80 ships to 250 in 10 years and would require all government cargoes to be carried on US-flag vessels.

Imports are likely to remain robust into January as shippers attempt to beat new tariffs expected to be imposed by the incoming Trump administration while also navigating an early Lunar New Year that begins Jan. 29.