<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">South Korean carriers Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine said Monday they will exchange slots on two of their trans-Pacific services starting in October.
 
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South Korean carriers Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine said Monday they will exchange slots on two of their trans-Pacific services starting in October.

<div>South Korean carriers Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine said Monday they will exchange slots on two of their trans-Pacific services starting in October.Hanjin will be taking slots on Hyundai&amp;rsquo;s SZX (Suez Express) and Hyundai on Hanjin&amp;rsquo;s AWN (All Water North Atlantic). With this slot exchange, Hanjin Shipping will be able to expand its presence in the trade between Singapore and Colombo and the U.S. East Coast while Hyundai will gain additional space in the trade between Shanghai and Busan and the U.S. East Coast.Hanjin Shipping said it is also continuing to cooperate with other domestic and overseas carriers to...

South Korean carriers Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine said Monday they will exchange slots on two of their trans-Pacific services starting in October. Hanjin will be taking slots on Hyundai&rsquo;s SZX (Suez Express) and Hyundai on Hanjin&rsquo;s AWN (All Water North Atlantic). With this slot exchange, Hanjin Shipping will be able to expand its presence in the trade between Singapore and Colombo and the U.S. East Coast while Hyundai will gain additional space in the trade between Shanghai and Busan and the U.S. East Coast. Hanjin Shipping said it is also continuing to cooperate with other domestic and overseas carriers to develop various routes. Hanjin&rsquo;s AWN (All Water North Atlantic) Service deploys eight vessels with a capacity of 4,300 20-foot equivalent units each on the following port rotation: Kaohsiung, Kantian, and Shanghai, Bussan, Panama, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Panama and back to Kaohsiung. Hyundai&rsquo;s SZX (Suez Express) Service deploys eight 4,000-TEU ships on the following rotation: Singapore, Colombo, Suez, New York, Charleston, Savannah, Norfolk, Suez, Jebel Ali and back to Singapore. Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com .

Maritime

Container lines

Hanjin, Hyundai to Share Slots

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A squeeze on the talent pipeline for the MPV and heavy-lift sectors means that competition for crew and captains is set to intensify.</div>

A squeeze on the talent pipeline for the MPV and heavy-lift sectors means that competition for crew and captains is set to intensify.

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<div class="phx-topic">Finding crew for the ultra-specialized multipurpose vessel sector is becoming the industry’s biggest challenge, ship operators say. Speaking to the Journal of Commerce, Christophe Grammare, managing director of AAL Shipping, said that while there are captains available today to safely sail MPVs, the pipeline for that talent is a concern.Grammare said that the increasing complexity of MPV cargoes is raising the amount of knowledge needed for the crew to safely deliver the load. While existing MPV masters have help from onshore engineers, it is getting “harder to find the new generation of younger captains to... go to sea and... to turn away from the traditional container side,” he said.While MPV operators have access to specialized training, the fundamental lack of incoming talent means that companies in this “specialized elite sector are fighting for a small pool of qualified people,” Grammare said, adding that increasingly complex cargoes exacerbate the problem. “This pushes us up to a higher level of technical knowledge,” he said. Kyriacos Panayides, CEO of AAL Shipping, described the availability of quality officers and crew as “the biggest threat” to the MPV industry.But it is not just crews that are suffering from a lack of talent coming through the pipeline in the multipurpose and heavy-lift sector. Elisabeth Cosmatos, CEO of Cosmatos Group and president of The Heavy Lift Group (THLG), said that young people associate the heavy-lift logistics industry as “early gray hair on the head because it's so stressful and the hours are terrible.”The Heavy Lift Group is an international group of specialized heavy transport companies.“We need to change the narrative,” she said. “The industry is diverse. You get to travel and experience different cultures. This sort of profession gives you the opportunity to do daily problem-solving, too.”Cosmatos said all THLG members are facing the same issues. “We need the right people with a willingness to learn,” she said.Contact Carly Fields at <a href="mailto:carly.fields@spglobal.com">carly.fields@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Finding crew for the ultra-specialized multipurpose vessel sector is becoming the industry’s biggest challenge, ship operators say. Speaking to the Journal of Commerce, Christophe Grammare, managing director of AAL Shipping, said that while there are captains available today to safely sail MPVs, the pipeline for that talent is a concern. Grammare said that the increasing complexity of MPV cargoes is raising the amount of knowledge needed for the crew to safely deliver the load. While existing MPV masters have help from onshore engineers, it is getting “harder to find the new generation of younger captains to... go to sea and... to turn away from the traditional container side,” he said. While MPV operators have access to specialized training, the fundamental lack of incoming talent means that companies in this “specialized elite sector are fighting for a small pool of qualified people,” Grammare said, adding that increasingly complex cargoes exacerbate the problem. “This pushes us up to a higher level of technical knowledge,” he said. Kyriacos Panayides, CEO of AAL Shipping, described the availability of quality officers and crew as “the biggest threat” to the MPV industry. But it is not just crews that are suffering from a lack of talent coming through the pipeline in the multipurpose and heavy-lift sector. Elisabeth Cosmatos, CEO of Cosmatos Group and president of The Heavy Lift Group (THLG), said that young people associate the heavy-lift logistics industry as “early gray hair on the head because it's so stressful and the hours are terrible.” The Heavy Lift Group is an international group of specialized heavy transport companies. “We need to change the narrative,” she said. “The industry is diverse. You get to travel and experience different cultures. This sort of profession gives you the opportunity to do daily problem-solving, too.” Cosmatos said all THLG members are facing the same issues. “We need the right people with a willingness to learn,” she said. Contact Carly Fields at carly.fields@spglobal.com .

Breakbulk carriers

Heavy-haul transport

Project cargo

Breakbulk News

Crew availability ‘biggest threat’ to multipurpose ship sector

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Whether the expected capacity injection on tap for June is enough to stem further rate increases remains unclear.</div>

Whether the expected capacity injection on tap for June is enough to stem further rate increases remains unclear.

<div class="phx-topic">Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are adding a new trans-Pacific express service to the US West Coast, while Mediterranean Shipping Co. looks to restart a suspended East Coast service. The moves signal new confidence about trans-Pacific demand as rates continue to strengthen going into June. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said in statements Monday that the Gemini Cooperation vessel-sharing agreement between them would offer a new express service connecting China and South Korea to the West Coast, branded respectively as the TP9/WC6. The first voyage from Xiamen, China, will take place June 24 on the 4,622-TEU Rhone Maersk, with subsequent calls at Busan and Long Beach. The Gemini partners said the service would offer an 18-day transit from Xiamen to Long Beach. The new Gemini service launches after a two-month turnaround in trans-Pacific shipping demand that saw ocean <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/asia-us-blank-sailing-forecast-for-may-increasing-amid-cancellations-5988996">carriers quickly remove ships</a> after President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China halted container bookings, then rapidly restore capacity amid the 90-day tariff reprieve that expires in mid-August. The demand whipsaw over that time has <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/eastbound-trans-pac-spot-rates-in-revival-mode-in-wake-of-us-china-trade-deal-6004803">almost doubled spot freight rates</a> from China to the West Coast. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, assessed North Asia to US West Coast container freight rates at $3,840 per FEU as of May 23, up from $1,960 per FEU on April 11. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="7536dc3e-05bb-456c-bdd0-bcc5c4f332a4"></dynamic-object></div>June is expected to see the most container ship capacity in the trans-Pacific since last November, according to data from ocean visibility provider eeSea. It expects 1.268 million TEUs of vessel capacity between Asia and the US West Coast next month, up 34,000 TEUs from May. The amount of “blanked” capacity removed from the market will be 113,234 TEUs, the lowest since June 2024. <h3>‘Sufficient space available’ </h3>Whether the expected capacity injection for June will be enough to stem further rate increases remains unclear. A US-based executive for a Taiwanese ocean carrier told the Journal of Commerce that because some ships have been repositioned to serve other trade lanes, it will be early July before he expects meaningful capacity additions to affect the trans-Pacific market. However, Alphaliner analyst Tan Hua Joo told the Journal of Commerce some carriers, such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, are in a better position to respond to resurgent demand because they did not remove ships during the recent turmoil. Other carriers may also be better able to add capacity quickly to the trans-Pacific market. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="672dcba4-2aca-447a-9d9e-a3c419bbb174"></dynamic-object></div>“I expect there will be sufficient space available in the market as trans-Pacific capacity will return very quickly and all carriers are adding ships over the next three weeks, apart from the Gemini carriers who have not withdrawn any ships from the trans-Pacific during the turmoil of the last five weeks,” Hua Joo said. Along with the trans-Pacific West Coast, the US East Coast should also see more ships in service by June. MSC appears ready for a mid-June restart of its Empire service from north China to the East Coast after announcing a suspension of the service in early May amid the demand downturn. According to MSC’s vessel schedule, the Empire service will offer direct voyages from Shanghai to the Port of New York and New Jersey starting with the June 18 departure of the 6,730-TEU MSC Barbara. There are six other ships nominated for weekly departures on the service through the end of July. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are adding a new trans-Pacific express service to the US West Coast, while Mediterranean Shipping Co. looks to restart a suspended East Coast service. The moves signal new confidence about trans-Pacific demand as rates continue to strengthen going into June. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said in statements Monday that the Gemini Cooperation vessel-sharing agreement between them would offer a new express service connecting China and South Korea to the West Coast, branded respectively as the TP9/WC6. The first voyage from Xiamen, China, will take place June 24 on the 4,622-TEU Rhone Maersk, with subsequent calls at Busan and Long Beach. The Gemini partners said the service would offer an 18-day transit from Xiamen to Long Beach. The new Gemini service launches after a two-month turnaround in trans-Pacific shipping demand that saw ocean carriers quickly remove ships after President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China halted container bookings, then rapidly restore capacity amid the 90-day tariff reprieve that expires in mid-August. The demand whipsaw over that time has almost doubled spot freight rates from China to the West Coast. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, assessed North Asia to US West Coast container freight rates at $3,840 per FEU as of May 23, up from $1,960 per FEU on April 11. June is expected to see the most container ship capacity in the trans-Pacific since last November, according to data from ocean visibility provider eeSea. It expects 1.268 million TEUs of vessel capacity between Asia and the US West Coast next month, up 34,000 TEUs from May. The amount of “blanked” capacity removed from the market will be 113,234 TEUs, the lowest since June 2024. ‘Sufficient space available’ Whether the expected capacity injection for June will be enough to stem further rate increases remains unclear. A US-based executive for a Taiwanese ocean carrier told the Journal of Commerce that because some ships have been repositioned to serve other trade lanes, it will be early July before he expects meaningful capacity additions to affect the trans-Pacific market. However, Alphaliner analyst Tan Hua Joo told the Journal of Commerce some carriers, such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, are in a better position to respond to resurgent demand because they did not remove ships during the recent turmoil. Other carriers may also be better able to add capacity quickly to the trans-Pacific market. “I expect there will be sufficient space available in the market as trans-Pacific capacity will return very quickly and all carriers are adding ships over the next three weeks, apart from the Gemini carriers who have not withdrawn any ships from the trans-Pacific during the turmoil of the last five weeks,” Hua Joo said. Along with the trans-Pacific West Coast, the US East Coast should also see more ships in service by June. MSC appears ready for a mid-June restart of its Empire service from north China to the East Coast after announcing a suspension of the service in early May amid the demand downturn. According to MSC’s vessel schedule, the Empire service will offer direct voyages from Shanghai to the Port of New York and New Jersey starting with the June 18 departure of the 6,730-TEU MSC Barbara. There are six other ships nominated for weekly departures on the service through the end of July. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Trans-Pacific

Ocean carriers bring in more trans-Pacific container services amid rate surge

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The facility, the carrier’s first investment in northern Vietnam, will have a combined capacity of 1.9 million TEUs when operational in 2028. </div>

The facility, the carrier’s first investment in northern Vietnam, will have a combined capacity of 1.9 million TEUs when operational in 2028.

<div class="phx-topic">French shipping giant CMA CGM has extended its terminal network in Vietnam after signing a $600 million deal with Saigon Newport Corporation to build and operate a deepwater container terminal complex in Haiphong in northern Vietnam. The agreement, inked Monday on the sidelines of an official visit to Vietnam by French President Emmanuel Macron, covers the design, construction and operation of terminals 7 and 8 at Haiphong’s Lach Huyen deepwater port. The terminals, CMA CGM’s first investment in northern Vietnam, will have a combined capacity of 1.9 million TEUs when operational in 2028. The facility will complement CMA CGM’s two existing co-owned terminals in southern Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City and Cai Mep. CMA CGM said the Haiphong facility will help it secure long-term container handling capacity amid a strong increase in container volumes, adding it has 29 weekly services calling at ports in Vietnam. The Haiphong project is part of a wider investment by CMA CGM in Vietnam after it launched an electric barge service in December between Binh Duong and its terminal at Cai Mep to transport Nike sports products. CMA CGM’s terminal agreement also comes just weeks after APM Terminals, in a joint venture with Vietnamese logistics and real estate group HATECO, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/apm-enhances-partnership-for-ultra-large-container-terminal-at-haiphong-port-5244608">opened terminals 5 and 6 at Lach Huyen on April 5</a>. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

French shipping giant CMA CGM has extended its terminal network in Vietnam after signing a $600 million deal with Saigon Newport Corporation to build and operate a deepwater container terminal complex in Haiphong in northern Vietnam. The agreement, inked Monday on the sidelines of an official visit to Vietnam by French President Emmanuel Macron, covers the design, construction and operation of terminals 7 and 8 at Haiphong’s Lach Huyen deepwater port. The terminals, CMA CGM’s first investment in northern Vietnam, will have a combined capacity of 1.9 million TEUs when operational in 2028. The facility will complement CMA CGM’s two existing co-owned terminals in southern Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City and Cai Mep. CMA CGM said the Haiphong facility will help it secure long-term container handling capacity amid a strong increase in container volumes, adding it has 29 weekly services calling at ports in Vietnam. The Haiphong project is part of a wider investment by CMA CGM in Vietnam after it launched an electric barge service in December between Binh Duong and its terminal at Cai Mep to transport Nike sports products. CMA CGM’s terminal agreement also comes just weeks after APM Terminals, in a joint venture with Vietnamese logistics and real estate group HATECO, opened terminals 5 and 6 at Lach Huyen on April 5 . Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Port News

Port infrastructure

Marine terminals

International ports

CMA CGM signs deal to develop $600 million Haiphong terminal complex

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Seoul-based carrier is teaming with Singapore’s PIL and X-Press Feeders on a new service that will be inaugurated from Tianjin on June 19. </div>

The Seoul-based carrier is teaming with Singapore’s PIL and X-Press Feeders on a new service that will be inaugurated from Tianjin on June 19.

<div class="phx-topic">HMM has teamed up with Singapore’s Pacific International Lines and X-Press Feeders to launch a weekly North China-Singapore-Indonesia service beginning next month as part of a wider plan by HMM to expand its network beyond its core long-haul services. The new China-Singapore-Indonesia service will be inaugurated from Tianjin on June 19, Seoul-based HMM said in a statement Monday, adding the loop would enhance its “competitiveness in the Indonesian market and strengthen feeder connectivity to ... long-haul trades.” Surendran Mathilagath, general manager for Pacific International Lines’ intra-Asia services, said the service is “designed to support our customers in meeting the growing demand in Asia for both dry and reefer trades.” The three carriers will deploy a total of five vessels ranging between 4,000 TEUs and 5,000 TEUs, with the full rotation for the 35-day roundtrip voyage being Tianjin, Qingdao, Xiamen, Singapore, Jakarta, Surabaya, Singapore and Tianjin. <h3>Surge in intra-Asia connectivity over past year </h3>The new service comes amid a year-over-year surge in intra-Asia connectivity, with double-digit increases in the number of services between China and key markets including Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. According to figures from transport consultancy MDS Transmodal, that includes an 18% gain, from 131 to 154, in the number of services between China and Vietnam from the second quarter of last year to the current quarter. The figures, compiled by MDS for the Journal of Commerce, also show a 14% increase, from 120 to 137, in the number of services between China and Singapore over the same period. Meanwhile, the number of services between China and Thailand is up 13% from 63 to 71, MDS data shows. There has been a commensurate increase in deployed capacity, with the biggest growth — 31% — on the China-Vietnam trade lane, according to MDS Transmodal. The launch of the new service coincides with an uptick in intra-Asia freight rates despite the market being oversupplied, Drewry said. “Rates are relatively strong, and we expect further increases in June,” Stijn Rubens, senior consultant for Drewry Supply Chain Advisors, said. “The strength we see on intra-Asia, as well as the increases we anticipate for June, are not owing to market strength, but rather due to spillover effects of the operational disruptions [on mainline trades].” The new service also continues a trend of mainline carriers teaming up with regional players on intra-Asia services. This year alone that includes Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport linking with Taiwanese feeder operator Interasia Lines and Hong Kong-listed TS Lines to launch a Japan-Taiwan-China-Vietnam service; Ocean Network Express partnering with Indonesian carrier Samudera Shipping Line on an extended Thailand-India-Gulf (TIG) service; and Evergreen Marine teaming with Wan Hai Lines, Thailand’s Regional Container Lines and Singapore-based Bengal Tiger Line on a Vietnam-Thailand-East Coast India service. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

HMM has teamed up with Singapore’s Pacific International Lines and X-Press Feeders to launch a weekly North China-Singapore-Indonesia service beginning next month as part of a wider plan by HMM to expand its network beyond its core long-haul services. The new China-Singapore-Indonesia service will be inaugurated from Tianjin on June 19, Seoul-based HMM said in a statement Monday, adding the loop would enhance its “competitiveness in the Indonesian market and strengthen feeder connectivity to ... long-haul trades.” Surendran Mathilagath, general manager for Pacific International Lines’ intra-Asia services, said the service is “designed to support our customers in meeting the growing demand in Asia for both dry and reefer trades.” The three carriers will deploy a total of five vessels ranging between 4,000 TEUs and 5,000 TEUs, with the full rotation for the 35-day roundtrip voyage being Tianjin, Qingdao, Xiamen, Singapore, Jakarta, Surabaya, Singapore and Tianjin. Surge in intra-Asia connectivity over past year The new service comes amid a year-over-year surge in intra-Asia connectivity, with double-digit increases in the number of services between China and key markets including Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. According to figures from transport consultancy MDS Transmodal, that includes an 18% gain, from 131 to 154, in the number of services between China and Vietnam from the second quarter of last year to the current quarter. The figures, compiled by MDS for the Journal of Commerce, also show a 14% increase, from 120 to 137, in the number of services between China and Singapore over the same period. Meanwhile, the number of services between China and Thailand is up 13% from 63 to 71, MDS data shows. There has been a commensurate increase in deployed capacity, with the biggest growth — 31% — on the China-Vietnam trade lane, according to MDS Transmodal. The launch of the new service coincides with an uptick in intra-Asia freight rates despite the market being oversupplied, Drewry said. “Rates are relatively strong, and we expect further increases in June,” Stijn Rubens, senior consultant for Drewry Supply Chain Advisors, said. “The strength we see on intra-Asia, as well as the increases we anticipate for June, are not owing to market strength, but rather due to spillover effects of the operational disruptions [on mainline trades].” The new service also continues a trend of mainline carriers teaming up with regional players on intra-Asia services. This year alone that includes Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport linking with Taiwanese feeder operator Interasia Lines and Hong Kong-listed TS Lines to launch a Japan-Taiwan-China-Vietnam service; Ocean Network Express partnering with Indonesian carrier Samudera Shipping Line on an extended Thailand-India-Gulf (TIG) service; and Evergreen Marine teaming with Wan Hai Lines, Thailand’s Regional Container Lines and Singapore-based Bengal Tiger Line on a Vietnam-Thailand-East Coast India service. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Container Shipping News

HMM adds to boom in intra-Asia services with China-Singapore-Indonesia loop

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Marseille-based carrier has finalized operational plans to shift vessels deployed on its MEDEX service back to the normal sailing journey through the Suez Canal beginning next month, sources say. </div>

The Marseille-based carrier has finalized operational plans to shift vessels deployed on its MEDEX service back to the normal sailing journey through the Suez Canal beginning next month, sources say.

<div class="phx-topic">CMA CGM appears to be the first carrier among mainline heavyweights making a firm bid to return to the traditional — and significantly shorter — Suez Canal route that remains a tricky proposition for the industry despite recent reports of a de-escalation of hostilities in the Red Sea. The Marseille-based carrier has finalized operational plans to shift vessels deployed on its India-Middle East-Mediterranean service, named the MEDEX, back to the normal sailing journey through the Suez beginning next month, new schedule data obtained by the Journal of Commerce from industry sources reveals. The first vessel marking the routing change will be the CMA CGM Palleas, departing India’s Nhava Sheva Port on June 7 and transiting the Suez June 28. That sailing will be followed by the CMA CGM Nabucco and CMA CGM Titus, due to transit the Suez on July 5 and July 12, respectively, sources say. The weekly MEDEX deploys a fleet of 10 CMA CGM ships, with Cosco Shipping co-loading on the service through slot charter rights that sources put at approximately 1,000 TEUs per week out of the Indian region, including Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port. Sources at CMA CGM and Cosco in India who spoke with the Journal of Commerce confirmed the resumption of the Suez rotation for the MEDEX service. “This is a permanent shift as of now,” said a consortium executive who didn’t want to be identified. With the recent omission of Karachi Port (Pakistan), the MEDEX now rotates Khalifa Port, Jebel Ali, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, Jeddah, Piraeus, Malta, Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer, Barcelona, Valencia, Jeddah and Khalifa. The MEDEX Suez return comes on the heels of the Egyptian canal authority doling out a 15% discount on container ship transit fees for 90 days from May 15. And it comes just weeks after <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/apparent-houthi-ceasefire-raises-container-shipping-overcapacity-risk-5999930">US President Donald Trump said Houthi militants operating from Yemen had agreed to stop their 18-month-long series of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea</a>. The attacks have forced ocean carriers to divert around southern Africa since late 2023, adding time and cost to their voyages. Despite CMA CGM’s apparent return to the Suez, the route is still viewed as a risk by other major liners. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-houthi-ceasefire-claim-not-sufficient-for-carrier-return-to-red-sea-maersk-6001686">Maersk has ruled out a return to Red Sea transits this year</a>, saying Trump’s announcement about the Houthis standing down was still “pretty far” from the threshold that would make the carrier comfortable in resuming Suez transits. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

CMA CGM appears to be the first carrier among mainline heavyweights making a firm bid to return to the traditional — and significantly shorter — Suez Canal route that remains a tricky proposition for the industry despite recent reports of a de-escalation of hostilities in the Red Sea. The Marseille-based carrier has finalized operational plans to shift vessels deployed on its India-Middle East-Mediterranean service, named the MEDEX, back to the normal sailing journey through the Suez beginning next month, new schedule data obtained by the Journal of Commerce from industry sources reveals. The first vessel marking the routing change will be the CMA CGM Palleas, departing India’s Nhava Sheva Port on June 7 and transiting the Suez June 28. That sailing will be followed by the CMA CGM Nabucco and CMA CGM Titus, due to transit the Suez on July 5 and July 12, respectively, sources say. The weekly MEDEX deploys a fleet of 10 CMA CGM ships, with Cosco Shipping co-loading on the service through slot charter rights that sources put at approximately 1,000 TEUs per week out of the Indian region, including Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port. Sources at CMA CGM and Cosco in India who spoke with the Journal of Commerce confirmed the resumption of the Suez rotation for the MEDEX service. “This is a permanent shift as of now,” said a consortium executive who didn’t want to be identified. With the recent omission of Karachi Port (Pakistan), the MEDEX now rotates Khalifa Port, Jebel Ali, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, Jeddah, Piraeus, Malta, Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer, Barcelona, Valencia, Jeddah and Khalifa. The MEDEX Suez return comes on the heels of the Egyptian canal authority doling out a 15% discount on container ship transit fees for 90 days from May 15. And it comes just weeks after US President Donald Trump said Houthi militants operating from Yemen had agreed to stop their 18-month-long series of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea . The attacks have forced ocean carriers to divert around southern Africa since late 2023, adding time and cost to their voyages. Despite CMA CGM’s apparent return to the Suez, the route is still viewed as a risk by other major liners. Maersk has ruled out a return to Red Sea transits this year , saying Trump’s announcement about the Houthis standing down was still “pretty far” from the threshold that would make the carrier comfortable in resuming Suez transits. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

Asia-Europe

CMA CGM unveils plans for Suez return on India-Mediterranean service

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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