Maritime

The purchase of an industrial site next to the terminal is part of Charleston’s plan to allow the facility to handle container ships that are double the size of the vessels it can currently accommodate.

The terminal operator said it hatched a new agreement with a Vietnamese logistics company that increases its involvement in developing an ultra-large container terminal in the country’s northern region.

As the market softens, carriers have jettisoned previously announced rate activity for March, with Mediterranean Shipping Co. canceling a $1,000-per-container general rate increase and CMA CGM again postponing a peak season surcharge.

The railroads say they are deploying more intermodal railcars to Los Angeles-Long Beach and adjusting their operations so marine terminals can clear out rail containers and reduce dwell times following strong import volumes early this year.

US imports from Asia last month were up 40% over February 2023, the biggest year-over-year jump for any month since May 2021.

The deaths of three bulk carrier crew in early March has spurred an international body representing seafarers to downgrade the busy shipping lanes from “high risk” to “warlike” and has urged all carriers to avoid sailing through the region.

Tougher environmental rules are expected to drive more MPV scrapping even as the order book expands thanks to new MPV and open-hatch ship orders.

This year’s annual service contract negotiations are occurring amid the latest disruption in container shipping as vessels divert away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to avoid possible attacks by Houthi militants.

Longer voyages around Africa to avoid Red Sea attacks have naturally resulted in greater fuel consumption from vessels, but with Europe now charging carriers per ton of emissions, the cost implications are significant.

New orders for open-hatch multi-purpose ships, some of them heavy-lift capable, have increased the MPV fleet growth forecast by 3.5% through 2028.

The entry of Hede International in the eastbound trans-Pacific comes as US imports from Asia have been rising on a year-over-year basis since October.

Dubai continues to be one of the more popular destinations for European importers with time-sensitive cargo, with the airport able to covert ocean freight to air cargo in 24 hours.

The carrier grouping is untouched by the latest alliance changes roiling the container market and will assume its position as the largest global alliance early next year after 2M dissolves.

Billions of dollars in federal funds are available to scale up innovative green energy projects, once would-be developers make it through the DOE’s loan qualification process.

The “essential” designation request, which if granted would have barred workers from striking, comes as talks on a new contract have dragged on for seven months with no resolution.

But both carriers have seen a rebound in revenues for the first two months of 2024 amid the higher freight rates the market saw early this year.

Small shippers that have historically been out of reach for CMA CGM are being targeted through a loyalty program connected to the carrier’s online spot booking tool.

Hapag-Lloyd's CEO insists the total cost of the network will be lower because Gemini will be able to better utilize controlled assets and deliver more efficient cargo connections in the hub and spoke model.

The carrier, after steadily increasing its coverage on trade lanes between Asia and North and South America while building its fleet and volumes, aims to leverage that market strength into new slot-sharing agreements.

Brightening prospects of Asia import growth in the first half have pushed container lines to significantly increase Asia-US West Coast capacity, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The Israel-based carrier is expecting a significantly improved 2024 driven by a larger and more efficient fleet, new services and double-digit growth in volumes.

The ability of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to achieve unprecedented levels of on-time performance rests on core assumptions, among them their control of transshipment ports, consistently high levels of productivity at those ports and a reduction in the number of origin and destination ports.

Carrier rates for loads from West India to Europe and the Mediterranean have slid by double-digit percentages in the last week or so as trade flows settle into the new normal journey around southern Africa.

Seaboard is adding calls to Costa Rica and Panama, among other countries, as Central American economies look to source raw materials from the US.

The uncertain security situation in the Red Sea and the pending partnership between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd were, not surprisingly, popular talking points outside the conference’s formal agenda, says Lars Jensen.

The port operator has grown its global forwarding footprint to 100 offices, using its network of terminals, warehouses, road and rail to provide greater visibility and control of shipments.

As the shock of diversions around southern Africa wears off and weekly schedules mostly return to normal, the spot rates that peaked in mid-January are falling fast.

If the Southern California inland point intermodal surge continues into the “danger zone,” then importers might do well to consider taking advantage of alternate routings in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, says analyst Larry Gross.

Marine terminals, truckers and warehouse operators say the state must be mindful of the large costs and ambitious deadlines it is imposing on the freight transportation sectors to reduce emissions.

In a sign of confidence in consumer demand, Global Port Tracker expects US imports for the first six months of the year will be up 7.8% compared with the first half of 2023.

A potential spike in vessel arrivals and volumes once the Red Sea crisis is resolved would be similar to the disruption caused by a regular winter storm in the North Sea, according to the head of Europe’s biggest container port.

The world’s ninth-largest carrier in terms of capacity recorded a Q4 net loss of about $43 million as low freight rates and services disruptions weighed on its financials.

Resolving the free time clock question to bring inland port moves in line with rail moves to major US cities could unleash even more business and take additional trucks off the highway.

Mode-malleable breakbulk cargo is shifting back to containers even as disruptions threaten to squeeze capacity and drive container rates higher.

The crisis has been a logistical headache for container lines, but overcapacity in their fleets is enabling them to cover the loss of effective capacity being used up by the longer transits around southern Africa, Lars Jensen told TPM24.

Shippers are no fans of transshipment and have expressed reservations over the ability of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to provide the efficiency needed to achieve their stated on-time performance goal of 90%.

DHL’s decision leaves Denmark’s DSV as the only remaining obvious potential bidder for DB Schenker after Kuehne+Nagel confirmed last week it would not pursue an acquisition.

CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Co. have confirmed pushing their previously announced rate increases scheduled for this week to the second half of the month.

Although the port is losing some intermodal service to the Midwest, demand is surging to core inland cities within the Southeast US.

Otto Schacht, who’s worked for Hapag-Lloyd and Kuehne+Nagel, said forwarders will remain vital to the industry thanks to a high degree of customer service.