Container lines

Importers in the US are rewiring their supply chains and drawing extra inventory from Canada, Mexico and domestically in a “wait and see” response to the trans-Pacific trade war, according to Vincent Clerc.

The world’s largest shipping company said Wednesday the service suspensions and network changes were “in response to the recent changes in demand for cargo transport from Asia to the US.”

The freeing up of vessel capacity that has been diverted around southern Africa for the past 18 months could inject as much as 2 million TEUs of functional capacity into the global container shipping market.

While the Jones Act carrier added another service from Vietnam in the first quarter, it says volumes from that country won’t replace what’s lost from China.

The restrictions have “effectively” made direct vessel calls to either Karachi or Port Qasim on India services operationally impossible, according to major container lines.

The broader goal of NYSHEX’s new container index is to provide rate information that will support the use of hedging tools for shippers, NVOs and carriers against increased volatility.

While ongoing port congestion in North Europe and longer voyages around the Cape of Good Hope will help to absorb incoming vessels, it will also leave the trade lane open to volatile shifts in capacity that cannot be planned for, a Journal of Commerce webinar was told.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach complex, which handles about half of all US imports from Asia, is so far due to experience 59 blanked sailings between May 1 and June 30.

The country’s trade commission originally fined 11 foreign carriers and 12 domestic lines following a three-year investigation that showed the lines fixed rates 120 times over a 15-year period on South Korea-Southeast Asia services.

With demand expectations faltering, carriers have either jettisoned or substantially lowered the increases they were planning to implement beginning May 1, forwarder sources tell the Journal of Commerce.

The carrier and competitor Hapag-Lloyd announced strong financial results Wednesday, but both said the success of early 2025 won’t be replicated through the balance of the year given market headwinds linked to the global trade conflict.

Container lines saw a first-quarter demand boost from US shippers eager to bring in cargo before the April implementation of the Trump administration’s tariffs.

With far fewer US-bound goods leaving Chinese docks, carriers have accelerated the raft of blank sailings and service suspensions that began earlier this month, sources tell the Journal of Commerce.

The flagship of Santos Brasil is Tecon Santos, the largest container terminal in South America with a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs that will soon be expanded to 3 million TEUs.

The latest deals will increase the total number of methanol-enabled ships Wan Hai has on order to 32, worth a total of almost $5 billion.

F. Paul De Maria will become the new CEO of the group representing ocean carriers and marine terminal operators at East and Gulf coast ports.

The award is less than the electronics giant sought in its complaint against Zim over detention and demurrage billing, a case that saw the judge chide Zim’s billing practices.

S&P Global’s Flash PMI for April, released Thursday, shows that economic output in the developed world hit its lowest point since 2023, boding poorly for container growth this year.

Carriers and importers are dealing with confusion over how tariffs in general, and the trade war between Washington and Beijing specifically, will affect commerce on the US’ busiest trade lane over the next 12 months.

The analyst downgraded its container handling outlook following similar moves on global and US economic growth by the IMF and WTO this week.

The carrier said its Gemini Cooperation alliance with Maersk is not resorting to blanked voyages to deal with the downturn, but it did redeploy ships to deal with demand changes.

Shippers and ocean carriers told the Journal of Commerce they are reviewing the USTR actions to estimate how the fees will flow down to freight costs.

But executives at both northern range hubs highlighted the extreme volatility of the first three months and the US tariff-driven uncertainty that lies ahead.

The increase in blank sailings coincides with the Port of Los Angeles’ expectation that container volumes will plunge 14% month over month in week 18 and 38.6% in week 19.

The alcoholic beverage industry is in decline as consumer tastes change, which is being felt in the import business as it deals with flat volumes.

The very idea of the United States getting back into shipbuilding at scale shows an erosion in acceptance of the concept of global trade, specifically comparative advantage.

In addition to various ongoing supply chain disruptions that US agricultural shippers face, they must now contend with the highly volatile tariff environment that is forcing them to seek new markets for their products.

The US Trade Representative (USTR) laid out actions to counter China’s maritime dominance that could put Cosco Shipping and subsidiary OOCL on the hook for millions when their ships call the US.

Multiple sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce say Chinese exporters facing demand headwinds in the US due to soaring tariffs will likely attempt to dump inventory stocks in other markets, with India widely viewed as a key target.

While no surge in volume has been reported on the trade lane, capacity deployment data shows ocean carriers are expecting an increase in demand over the coming weeks as shippers use the 90-day tariff pause to advance US orders.

The export decline is already showing up in some data, with bookings for US exports to China for the week of April 8–15 down 5.4% from the prior week.

With the door to US trade effectively slammed shut by tariffs, Chinese manufacturers are urgently looking for alternative markets in which to offload their surplus inventory.

Virginia continues to add infrastructure to its marine terminals as part of the port’s plan to handle mega-max vessels once dredging is finished late in 2025.

Some ships are leaving China just half-full as the Trump administration’s rush of tariffs sends shippers into contortions about what to do with their freight.

Although an agreement was reached on a greenhouse gas pricing measure, the Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in London exposed deep divisions among member states on the way forward.

From an international supply chain perspective, the plan that could hit Chinese-made and -operated ships with fees in excess of $1 million per US port call could have impacts as profound as the current tariff controversy.

First-quarter carrier earnings are likely to be buoyed by high rates and strong demand that has spilled over from 2024, but tariffs, slowing volume and excess capacity are darkening the outlook for the rest of the year.

A full evaluation of on-time performance will not be possible until July once the transition to the new deep-sea services has been completed, but data for February and March is positive for the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd alliance.

And the chilling effect of the tariffs is extending further down the calendar, with forwarders in the trans-Pacific saying US retailers are holding off making purchase orders with factories in Asia for fall and holiday merchandise for 30 to 60 days.

The latest Global Port Tracker demonstrates the uncertainty that has overtaken global supply chains since the White House’s announcement on tariffs a week ago.