International ports

The move complements a flurry of Asia-India service additions by niche regional carriers and newer feeder operators in recent months.

The intra-Asian region is expected to be a hotbed of mergers and acquisitions in container shipping because that is where the growth in container demand is centered, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

Given the persistent downward pressure on demand, it remains to be seen if India-US carriers will be able to push through a new round of modest rate hikes planned for December.

Still, the latest Indian trade data presents some hopeful signs for supply chain stakeholders, as the country's merchandise exports grew 6.3% by value year over year in October, the fastest rate of expansion in a year.

There was significant improvement in Hamburg’s operational indicators through the third quarter, especially those covering trade with China, its biggest source of imports.

The International Maritime Organization voted in May 2022 to implement the so-called Maritime Single Window from the start of 2024 in a bid to accelerate digitalization in shipping.

The incident comes as dockworkers announced a further series of strikes this week at DP World's four Australian terminals in an ongoing row over new rostering arrangements.

The move holds considerable significance as it comes amid accelerated efforts by India and the US to boost bilateral ties at multiple levels.

DP World Australia plans to hike terminal access charges by up to 50% at its four terminals in the country from Jan. 1.

On top of the sailing cuts, some recent vessel arrivals at India have been behind schedule by up to a week, resulting in cargo rollovers, according to forwarder sources.

While the carrier will not hold the controlling share, expanding its presence in Hamburg will cement MSC’s terminal operating position in Europe’s third-largest container shipping port.

The Singapore-based carrier has now expanded its access to capacity in the strategic locations of the US West Coast, North Europe and Southeast Asia.

Given the current growth rate, Morrocco’s Tanger Med could reach its nominal annual container capacity of 9 million TEUs as early as next year.

DP World said it is currently experiencing a seven- to eight-day turnaround in vessels being worked at four major ports in the country, a significant delay compared with the usual two-day turnaround.

Seeing the demand growth, niche intra-Asia liners have beefed up their networks out of India, deploying bigger vessels and opening more calls to the country’s East Coast ports.

The latest service suspensions signal that US and European demand for some Asia-sourced consumer goods will remain tepid following the record spending splurge of the previous two years.

The announcement was made simultaneously with the forwarder releasing its nine-month financial results that reflected softening air and ocean markets, dragging down profitability from last year’s record performance.

Antwerp-Bruges follows neighboring rival Rotterdam in reporting a decline in container throughput this year through September.

A weak regional economy in which increasing demand for services is cutting into consumer goods spending, high inflation and rising geopolitical tensions are dragging on containerized trade through Europe’s largest port.

Forwarders in Brazil say Hapag-Lloyd’s entrance into the feeder market through a joint venture will inject competition amid an easing of the country’s cabotage rules.

After jettisoning previously planned October rate hikes, some India-USEC carriers have published new, modest rate increase plans for November.

Existing overcapacity in the container shipping market has provided the resilience required to handle a potential prolonged blockage of the Suez Canal, says analyst Lars Jensen, who wonders if stakeholders are willing to pay higher freight rates to maintain that safety net.

Both Hongkong International Terminals and Modern Terminals confirmed cargo handling operations at their facilities at Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung container port were halted for about 33 hours, gradually resuming late Monday afternoon.

MSC’s move to extend its partnership with Eurogate in the north German gateway port follows a bid by the carrier for a half-stake in Hamburg’s largest terminal operator.

If shippers found the post-IMO 2020 bunker fuel formulas confusing and misaligned across ocean carriers, just wait until they see the surcharges linked to Europe’s new emissions trading system, says analyst Lars Jensen.

The multimodal transshipment connector is taking shape as the industry puts a heavier focus on end-to-end, point-to-point carrier offerings to enable more resilient and sustainable trade flow.

For importers and forwarders, the blank sailings mean the resulting schedule disruptions and “rolling” of cargo they are already experiencing at Asian load ports will force them to book more of their cargo with carriers they can count on to maintain schedule integrity.

New forwarding and ocean services are being added to South American trade lanes as service providers move to capture rising trade growth in the region.

Signaling some growth expectations, Indian container volumes saw gains in August, hitting 1.9 million TEUs, up 14% from 1.7 million TEUs a year earlier.

Carrier executives and others say the draft limitations imposed due to a shortage of rainfall are creating a more difficult economic rationale for the so-called all-water route to the East Coast of North America.

The carrier’s commitment to bring an additional 1 million TEUs per year across HHLA’s wharves in Hamburg if it wins a bid for almost half the company will come as an attractive sweetener for the terminal operator.

Although importers can look forward to paying low freight rates at least into 2024 due to weak volumes and significant overcapacity in the trans-Pacific, aggressive capacity reductions through blank sailings will disrupt service levels, this week’s IANA conference was told.

The Indamex 2, the weekly loop touted as the fastest connection between western India and the US East Coast, is set to see a 50% capacity reduction for loads out of India this month.

The carrier has made a cash offer to acquire just under 50% of HHLA in a deal that will significantly expand its terminal and intermodal reach.

The carrier’s dual-fuel newbuildings will be the first in a series of vessels to be delivered over the next decade.

Sailing schedules showed delays of up to five days on some services due to the typhoons, including one that hit the coast of southern China Tuesday after sweeping across Taiwan at the weekend.

For any number of product categories, relocating sourcing brings with it less efficient logistics, occasional lower quality and overall higher costs at a time when cost control is rapidly assuming a higher priority for shippers.

MSC, which has implemented large-scale network realignments in recent months, halted Indian calls on the Sentosa service in April when it opened a standalone intra-Asia loop.

In addition to the typical annual planning, such as for budgets and freight rates, US importers need to start weighing contingency plans for two potentially disruptive occurrences next year — continued low-water levels along the Panama Canal and the expiration of the International Longshoremen’s Association contract, writes Lars Jensen.

Weak European demand for containerized trade through the first half is hurting port throughput at the region’s top three gateways, but signs are emerging of recovering volume on certain routes.