International ports

Rotterdam attributed its first quarter gains to recovering Asia imports in March and a jump in feeder traffic between the port and the Mediterranean linked to vessel diversions around southern Africa.

But it’s an open question just how long the port’s quarterly volumes can maintain that upward trend with weak economic conditions largely expected to remain in place in Europe this year.

According to local port berthing updates, the Aries had an estimated time of arrival in Nhava Sheva of April 16, with some 2,400 containers planned for loading out of the port.

But the port has an action plan in place to win back business, including development of a green bunkering hub, digitizing port operations and boosting multimodal connections.

The government’s latest move to increase the size of the national fleet has reportedly led HMM to reevaluate its own five-year expansion plan to invest about $11 billion, including funds for new vessels.

Still, more capacity is on the way for India-US shippers, with Ocean Network Express due to start its new West India-USEC standalone connection in late May.

The study, commissioned by the Global Shipping Business Network, comes amid a commitment by nine of the top 10 global ocean carriers to only use electronic bills of lading by 2030.

The UAE’s AD Ports Group and the Iraqi government have signed a preliminary agreement to develop the Al-Faw Grand Port, its economic zone and freight-supporting infrastructure.

Still, forwarders generally believe that while prices have room to fall further, it's unlikely the market will return to the end-2023 pre-crisis pricing trendline as long as the uncertain security situation in the Red Sea persists.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The capacity reinstatement is also a boon for Indian shippers facing intermittent void calls and longer transits as they try to maximize exports ahead of the current fiscal year closing on March 31.

Even as the industry seemingly adjusts to the new status quo of routing ships around southern Africa, there are significant — yet less apparent — changes afoot in container shipping, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The prospects of trucking goods from the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia to the trade hub of Jeddah on the Rea Sea looks increasingly more favorable amid soaring ocean spot rates and few signs that southern Red Sea security will be restored soon.

A faltering German economy, weak consumer demand and geopolitics are having a negative effect on Europe’s largest container gateways. 

Forwarders believe carriers are now a bit uncertain about their ability to secure enough cargo from shippers for spot bookings given that some exporters are known to have put their orders on hold because of high ocean rates and other challenges.

The move has already prompted Busan, one of the ports most affected by the downgrade, to urge Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to rethink their Gemini vessel schedules and restore some calls at the South Korean gateway.

Large terminal operators and container lines have backed an effort to build a common digital platform, which this week lured three global port operators into its network.

There was unilateral opposition to the call made by the European Commission last May as part of its reform of customs procedures, and as expected, the measure never made it through the parliamentary review

Carriers are dealing with a significant backlog of cargo that has built up because of longer transit times, cutting down available space for exports and raising rate levels.

The shipping industry still deems southbound voyages through the Suez Canal as far as Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia as beyond the reach of the militant attacks that have forced the majority of large container ship traffic to divert around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa.

Given the capacity pressures, a potential higher incidence of gated cargo being left behind or rolled over in March could spark serious trade concerns, Indian sources say.

A price correction was not entirely unexpected, but carrier sources believe that rates could move up again next month due to the fiscal year-end shipping rush.

While the union said industrial action has ended, the disruption caused by work stoppages that lasted hours and days at a time will take weeks to wind down.

US retailers and others will reduce their exposure to China as they can, chasing cheaper labor while also hedging the risk associated with relying on one origin for key goods and items.

Ocean carriers are not able to honor roughly 25% of their planned loads on available US East Coast weekly sailings out of Nhava Sheva and Mundra ports, local sources say.

While a resumption of Suez Canal transits would be welcomed, ports and inland infrastructure in Europe, the Mediterranean and along the US East Coast could be overloaded with cargo when carriers revert to traditional routings, warns Lars Jensen.

The service cuts could be seen as a step backward for the carrier after it significantly consolidated its ocean reach out of India in recent years to tap a promising trade outlook as the emerging economy expands.

An ongoing pay dispute between a German rail workers’ union will see train drivers, signalers and dispatchers embarking on a strike that will have regional ramifications.

The South Korean government is guaranteeing a certain amount of vessel capacity for small and medium shippers on services to Europe and the Mediterranean, while Vietnam is also taking steps to mitigate the impact of the Suez diversions.

Rates on the westbound trade lane were at loss-making levels last year and have only deteriorated further, giving carriers no leverage to lift prices.

Forwarders are voicing concerns that carrier rate quotes are now mostly valid only for a week compared with the normal 30-day validity extended to regular booking customers.

The impact will be especially felt on key services such as China-Vietnam and China-Thailand where deep-sea services are accounting for an increasing share of the intra-Asia volumes on those trade lanes.

The disruption has worsened since last month after the union doubled the weekly work stoppages from around 24 hours to up to 48 hours at DP World’s terminals.

HMM has opened an array of connections out of India in recent years, including the launch last August of a solo, 12-vessel string connecting the Far East, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.