Maritime

As a top tier of mega carriers has emerged through consolidation and organic growth, so has the need of those carriers to align their dominance on the ocean with capacity at ports.

The threat underscores the fragility of the Red Sea security situation and the reluctance of ocean carriers to return to Suez Canal transits until the safety of crew, ships and cargo can be guaranteed. 

Having control over port operations has become a key element of container shipping that enables the fast turnaround of ships and improved schedule reliability.

The visibility market has bifurcated into standalone vendors too small to be captured by Gartner’s “Magic Quadrant” report and larger vendors whose platforms extend far beyond what the report evaluates.

The so-called Ocean Shipper Bill of Rights was distributed by the National Industrial Transportation League at the conclusion of the Journal of Commerce’s TPM25 conference.

European governments and the European Commission will carry out regulatory reviews to assess the level of market concentration MSC will have with the planned takeover of Hutchison’s port assets, with divestitures likely on the table.

Across all the terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach, average rail dwell times peaked at just under 10 days in October, according to the Pacific Maritime Shipping Association.

The arrival of the first vehicle imports in five years has sparked renewed interest in the country’s auto shipment potential.

The carrier’s investment, announced while its chief executive met at the White House with President Donald Trump, comes amid heightened political sensitivities in the US as far as the container shipping industry is concerned.

Analyst Lars Jensen’s closing message to conference participants planning their supply chains for the coming year is to move slowly and carefully because it will take months before clarity emerges.

DHL group CEO Tobias Meyer recognized that the division’s performance remained lackluster, with the “volatile” gross profit/EBIT conversion rate below DHL’s 35% target.

Major carriers on the India-US East Coast trade are reporting success on their March rate recovery efforts, thanks in large part to recent sailing cuts, prompting some of them to announce even higher increases for next month.

The head of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition told TPM25 that US exports of logs, fruits, nuts, soybeans and other agricultural products appear to be slowing due to China’s tariff countermeasures.

The new service that will start in April will enhance Vietnam’s connectivity with Brazil, which is already Vietnam’s largest trading partner in Latin America.

The bleak timeline from Europe’s busiest port is based on the chaos that resulted when the Ever Given was freed after six days of blocking the Suez Canal in 2021.

ONE’s chief executive took the opportunity of TPM’s silver anniversary to look back at how the industry has changed for the better over the years and call out some of the existing hurdles.

The massive deal includes Hutchison’s 90% interests in the Panama Ports Company, which owns and operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the Panama Canal and has been the object of recent scrutiny from the Trump administration.

Large customers are looking for large logistics partners that can offer more control over supply chains as international trade becomes more complex, the CEO tells TPM25.

While the new network will need two cycles to be fully phased in through the next two or three months, the Hapag-Lloyd CEO said Gemini was “off to a good start” with 550 port calls made so far and 45 of 57 services already started.

Contract logistics was the star performer in the company’s portfolio in 2024, with gross profit rising 4% to $4 billion.

Fluor, KBR, TechnipFMC and Worley are predicting moderate to strong growth in project orders this year, buoyed by oil and gas work.

An oversupply of vessels, carrier rate wars and bleak consumer sentiment are positioned to oppress the container shipping market in 2025, experts told TPM25.

Should the Trump administration’s proposal be implemented, capacity will have to be withdrawn from the US and redeployed to where it makes more economical sense, the CEO of the world’s largest ocean carrier said.

John Bolton, who served as Donald Trump’s national security advisor from 2018–19, said China is gauging its next global moves through how the US responds to the war in the Ukraine.

The carrier’s new investment push seems to be an attempt to catch up with its peers, particularly MSC, which has dedicated terminals at Mundra and Ennore/Chennai through joint venture arrangements with Adani.

Manufacturers are offering diverse views on the outlook for the wind sector, with onshore faring better than offshore in the US and blade accidents upending momentum.

The French liner joined the ranks of its profitable peers, announcing Friday that its net profit rose 2% to $5.7 billion last year on an 18% rise in revenue to $55.5 billion.

The measures are the latest in a series of support packages announced by South Korean trade organizations and government bodies to help the country’s small and medium-sized exporters weather capacity restrictions and volatile freight rates.

Cheetah Chassis and Stoughton Trailers contend that the same trade practices that led to an influx of low-cost Chinese chassis are now occurring with imports from the other three nations, causing significant financial harm to US producers.

Container lines in the US’ busiest trade lane, determined to avoid a repeat of last year when they believe they significantly underpriced their services, are seeking rate gains of 20% to 30% for the upcoming service year.

Digital forwarders that emerged over the past decade are coming of age in the era of AI, but not all will make it to the other end.

The cost of the US Trade Representative’s proposal for levying fees on Chinese ships and ocean carriers would fall to US shippers, who would also face fewer service options, the analyst says.

While the US-based carrier experienced a strong 2024, growth this year is under threat due to tariffs and the unknowns involving when Red Sea transits will resume.

The carrier has replaced the huge vessels with smaller ships in a move to cut capacity and reduce pressure on rates that have plummeted since the start of the year, according to the analyst.

Newfound pricing power for carriers has halted the steady rate declines seen on the trade since last August.

Labor peace at US East and Gulf coast ports is now ensured through September 2030 after the union’s rank and file approved the new labor agreement.

Sustainable financing will help the Oslo-listed operator hit net-zero goals, but it brings risks with higher capex costs to cover operations of its ro/ro fleet.

Shipper, forwarder and customs broker associations want to see the members of the Digital Container Shipping Association accelerate efforts to create interoperable process standards.

The tonnage injection comes amid an uptick in Asian manufacturers expanding business in Latin America, particularly Mexico.

While the breakbulk sector failed to capitalize on the forward loading of steel to get in front of US import tariffs, it now has bigger concerns with US proposals to penalize Chinese-made MPVs.