Maritime

Forwarders say shippers are booking space to the US for low-value commodities such as plywood, tile and paper, which prior to the rate drop had been limited to less-expensive routes.

Sources at Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in India have confirmed that feeder services for the Bangladesh trade have not been included in the new network structure.

A new report from software vendor Kaleris has found that terminal operators around the globe believe they are providing better visibility data than shippers say are they receiving.

The disruption to the Asia-Europe trade lane is expected to be limited as the transition from old services to the new alliances is being made during the traditionally slow post-Lunar New Year period.

Unstructured data, security concerns and value questions are holding back the progression of technology in the breakbulk industry.

Regulatory uncertainty around the allowance of digital trade documents is one factor that has slowed the adoption of electronic bills of lading in the shipping industry.

The ocean carrier is diving into domestic intermodal logistics for shippers sending freight from inland markets to the West Coast.

The most significant drop will take place in the second half of the month after Lunar New Year, with about 7% of the lost capacity attributed to a short month and “gaps in service handoffs,” according to maritime intelligence firm eeSea.

The latest move by the port involves a proposal by intermodal logistics provider IntermodeX to develop a transload facility near Prince Rupert’s Fairview Container Terminal that is designed to primarily attract import containers.

DSV CEO Jens Lund said the size of the Schenker acquisition meant it could take up to two years before the companies were fully integrated into the world’s largest forwarder.

The vessel, carrying 1,353 containers of Chilean cherries to China, suffered a main engine failure in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 13, 17 days into what was supposed to be a 24-day voyage.

In the “Newsmakers” Q&A, K+N’s head of ocean logistics touches upon US tariffs, sourcing shifts away from China, Red Sea transits and the benefits of AI.

The Geneva-based carrier said a network of 210,000 reefer containers and more than 500 vessels are already equipped with its new iReefer monitoring system.

There has been a steady decline in average rate levels on the major trade lanes since December, and as the new alliances and MSC’s standalone network launch, there is no sign of an end to the slide.

Shipowners in the sector view the ambitious SHIPS for America legislation as unrealistic, with the domestic shipbuilding industry under-skilled and lacking the capacity needed to meaningfully contribute to the specialized MPV fleet.

Sources tell the Journal of Commerce the union will convene a midweek meeting in Florida of its local wage scale committees across the 14 ports under its jurisdiction.

The Singapore-based carrier reported strong demand on its two main trade lanes out of Asia in its most recent fiscal quarter, with the trans-Pacific recording 100% utilization.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have made 90% schedule reliability a core promise of their new partnership, and the pledge will be under intense scrutiny by the carriers’ customers.

Forwarders say that breakbulk and project cargo shippers are taking a greater interest in alternative fuel options for specialist ships.

The largest US freight broker expects the first quarter of 2025 to be weak for trucking as the freight recession remains in place, but it is converting more customers to use its services for ocean freight.

The breakbulk sector can lean on the progress of key US ports in facilitating the safe bunkering of next generation alternative shipping fuels

It would be the 10th consecutive year the carrier has reported a profit as it capitalized on increasing demand supported by elevated rates.

The planned development in Eastern Canada marks the latest stage in a nearly two-year-old partnership between the company and the Class I railroad.

Ports in the UK are already seeing rising operational delays as a string of storms moves in from the Atlantic and major ports in Europe issue high wind warnings.

EPCs say that tariffs enforced after project costs are finalized not only impact the bottom line but in some cases destroy the viability of a project, hitting volumes in the breakbulk trade.

The comments by Louis Sola during a Senate hearing come amid rising US scrutiny of Chinese influence over the crucial waterway.

The former Wisconsin congressman and Fox Business host was confirmed by a 77-22 vote on Tuesday.

Liners believe they left money on the table in 2024–25 service contracts, sources tell the Journal of Commerce, and are putting up opening quotes about 25% higher than a year ago in their initial talks with customers.

The arrangement allows international carriers to transship domestic import and export cargoes at Shanghai’s Yangshan deepwater port from selected ports in northern China.

China celebrates the Year of the Snake Tuesday, and while there is always a move to get export orders on the water before the holidays, the push this year came earlier than expected.

Sources at established carriers on the trade lane, such as CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, have noted extreme rate pressures due to a significant capacity injection driven in part by the new shipping alliances.

Each month of last year saw reliability degrade compared with the corresponding month in 2023, although 2024 carried the burden of vessel diversions around southern Africa as carriers avoided the Suez Canal and Red Sea.

The Belgian port has restored the throughput that was lost following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, filling the gap in part by capturing market share from its northern range rivals.

With voyages around southern Africa taking up to 45 days and most carriers continuing to divert away from the Red Sea, the shorter route cuts the transit time of Kawa Shipping’s China-Europe Express to just 26 days.

While a bit softer since the start of the year, rates are not falling at the same pace they were in the second half of 2024 when prices plummeted from almost $11,000 per FEU in early August.

The FMC complaint is a rare instance of a container line accusing a shipper of not living up to the terms of a service contract.

Airbus’ sudden shutdown of its heavy-lift subsidiary is pushing aviation experts to investigate alternative options to ensure lifts for outsized and project cargo loads are maintained.

Donald Trump, just hours after returning to the White House Monday, signed an executive order to begin the process of pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement climate change treaty.

Ocean carriers may soon finalize a series of large ship orders as the newbuilding spree that took the order book to a record 8.3 million TEUs by the end of 2024 is set to continue.

President Donald Trump injecting himself into longshore labor talks and his recent threat to take over the Panama Canal are a precursor to the unpredictability container shipping will face over the next four years, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.