<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Justice Department says it's too soon for the courts to decide whether a foreign-built tanker th</div>

The Justice Department says it's too soon for the courts to decide whether a foreign-built tanker th

<div>The Justice Department says it's too soon for the courts to decide whether a foreign-built tanker that is later rebuilt in a U.S. shipyard is eligible to carry cargo in the U.S. domestic trades.The department last week asked a federal court to dismiss an attempt by two tanker operators to overturn an interim Coast Guard ruling enabling a competitor to place a partially rebuilt tanker into the domestic trades.U.S. attorneys representing the Department of Transportation and the Coast Guard said the challenge mounted in U.S. District Court here last year by Keystone Shipping Co. of Philadelphia and Marine Transport Lines...

The Justice Department says it's too soon for the courts to decide whether a foreign-built tanker that is later rebuilt in a U.S. shipyard is eligible to carry cargo in the U.S. domestic trades. The department last week asked a federal court to dismiss an attempt by two tanker operators to overturn an interim Coast Guard ruling enabling a competitor to place a partially rebuilt tanker into the domestic trades.U.S. attorneys representing the Department of Transportation and the Coast Guard said the challenge mounted in U.S. District Court here last year by Keystone Shipping Co. of Philadelphia and Marine Transport Lines Inc., Secaucus, N.J., is "not yet ripe for judicial review." That's because no final Coast Guard decision has been issued, they explained. Agency rulings up to now concerning the rebuilding and redocumentatio n of the ship Fuji have been preliminary, they said. The tanker, en route from New York to Venezuela, blew up about 250 miles off Cape Hatteras in 1985. The stern section remained intact and was acquired by Seabulk Tankers Ltd. for slightly over $1 million. Seabulk wants to join the Fuji's stern section with the fore part of the U.S.-flag integrated tug/barge 4102, formerly the Oxy-Producer. The 4102 was built with construction subsidy. Under U.S. law, a salvaged wrecked vessel can be documented as a U.S.-flag vessel eligible for domestic service - even if it was built and registered abroad prior to wrecking - so long as it is repaired at a cost at least three times its appraised salvage value. In various interim communications with Seabulk, the Coast Guard found the Fuji was wrecked in waters adjacent to the United States, the salvage value was $3.8 million and the joining of the two sections would result in a rebuilt vessel eligible for use in the domestic trade. The Keystone/Marine Transport lawsuit contends the salvage value was much too low, and that the assembly will be more than a simple repair: It will be, in effect, a new vessel far larger than the original Fuji with more of the 4102 to it than the Fuji. Justice said the request to vacate the Coast Guard's actions is premature because "repairs to the vessels have not yet been completed and may not be completed in the near future . . . (and) there is no guarantee that the repairs will satisfy the Coast Guard." The vessel "clearly is not harming" Keystone or Marine Transport, continued Justice, "nor is any harm imminent."

Maritime

JUSTICE URGES COURT TO DISMISS CHALLENGE TO SEABULK RULING

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The former NYK Line executive was a swashbuckling figure who epitomized an era of influential and charismatic US heads of European and Asian container lines — figures who dominated the US landscape with levels of authority that have long since given way to headquarter supremacy.</div>

The former NYK Line executive was a swashbuckling figure who epitomized an era of influential and charismatic US heads of European and Asian container lines — figures who dominated the US landscape with levels of authority that have long since given way to headquarter supremacy.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">The passing of <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/dodd-fiori-ex-nyk-north-america-executive-dead-at-82-6067734">former NYK Line executive Dodd Fiori on Aug. 16 at 82</a> is cause to look back on the heyday of his career in the 1990s, a period of profound change in the industry that culminated in an ultimately futile legislative effort to set the industry on a path toward value creation both for itself and its customers. Fiori was a swashbuckling figure who epitomized an era of influential and charismatic US heads of European and Asian container lines — figures who dominated the US landscape with levels of authority that have long since given way to headquarter supremacy within carrier organizations. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/6073367_0.1.jpg"></img></div>Figures such as Capt. Nicola Arena of Mediterranean Shipping Co., Oscar J. Abello of “K” Line, Conrad Everhard of Cho Yang, A.B. “Ted” Ruhly of Maersk and Rudy Mack of Hapag-Lloyd rode astride the US industry and had the authority to be go-to sources for deals by shippers and forwarders. The lack of such figures in the US industry today means many large beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) regularly make pilgrimages to carrier headquarters to lock in capacity — the customer traveling to see the vendor — reflecting how the nexus of power within carriers gravitated from regions such as the US to Geneva, Marseille, Shanghai, Hamburg, Singapore and Copenhagen. But years ago, it was the regional leadership that was firmly in charge, especially in the US, where the regional heads were on the frontlines in dealing with customers and regulators. An example was Fiori negotiating NYK’s first contract with Walmart based on the carrier’s new Asia-East Coast via the Suez Canal route, the famed AEX service, which played to the retailer’s desire to land goods closer to East Coast store locations. “While the early 1990’s was still an era where the container industry had sustained periods of excess capacity, the Asia to East Coast [via Panama or Suez] was still somewhat of a niche market and not characterized by severe excess supply; that would of course change,” recalled Sam Ruda, who worked under Fiori before going on to other roles, including heading the Port of New York and New Jersey. “So, in this lane, at least in the early 1990’s, the power balance between the carrier and the shipper was more even,” Ruda said. “Dodd really played into this dynamic in the meeting with Walmart. The West Coast was not really the strategic imperative for Walmart. They needed capacity and service in the emerging East Coast lane from Asia via the canal routings.” <h3>Shippers emerge as a ‘power center’ </h3>While the 1990s saw the emergence of shippers such as Walmart, whose business model was based on supply chain, parallel and interconnected changes were underway that Fiori and other carrier heads were in the middle of. The period saw the emergence of shippers as a power center and the parallel demise of the decades-old conference system, where rate levels were set by conference carriers with little room for flexibility via “independent action” on rates. The idea to replace that system, supported by Fiori and other US industry leaders, as well as shippers, was enshrined in the deregulatory 1998 Ocean Shipping Reform Act, forged out of consensus among all key players. (That was in direct contrast to OSRA-22, which, in an entirely different political environment, was passed over carriers’ objections). The idea in 1998 was that win-win contractual relationships would result from allowing shippers and carriers for the first time to sign confidential contracts not subject to collective pricing actions by conferences. That vision, it seems fair to say, was never realized. At the first TPM in 2001, then-APL CEO Flemming Jacobs based his keynote speech on the need for value-creating relationships to emerge, which had yet to happen three years after the law passed. It was not hard to understand why. Consolidation at that time was still in its early stages. And persistent overcapacity and most shippers’ unwillingness to pay a premium for reliable service created tensions, especially with traditional conference carriers such as NYK and APL, whose services were based on reliability, with rates set 5% to 10% above non-conference lines. <h3>‘In the middle’ of tension </h3>During the 1990s, “the carrier side had sustained periods of overcapacity. Profitability for the carriers was elusive. And this lack of profitability created a lot of underlying tension between the [NYK] home office [in Tokyo] and the regional offices [in the US],” Ruda said. “I think this tension was true across the entire carrier industry. Dodd was right in the middle of this tension.” As the conference system faltered, the deregulated market that replaced it made it increasingly unprofitable for carriers to invest in the extra fuel needed to speed up to maintain schedules. Some carriers spent on extra fuel anyway in an elusive bid to extract premium rates until number crunches later exposed the folly of the spending. That pressure has carried through to the present day, with a key difference being that most carriers seem to have largely given up on the idea of reliability or are minimally focused on it. They prefer instead to see capacity absorbed by port congestion or geopolitical shocks, which resulted in the all-time record profits earned during and after COVID-19, including in the first half of 2025. If Fiori’s day saw the impact of overcapacity, that was partly due to the number of carriers serving the east-west trades being much greater than today. In the 1990s, 12 major conference carriers and five non-conference carriers were operating in the trans-Pacific, said Mike DiVirgilio, who worked under Fiori at NYK. That has now changed. “With a steady stream of mergers, acquisitions and a few bankruptcies, the carrier side has undergone a tectonic transformation,” Ruda said. “From a carrier perspective, consolidation enables significantly improved capability to better manage capacity which then enables improved pricing power and thus, the ability to charge rate levels that offer a return on capital.” While overcapacity is asserting itself again in the second half of 2025, consolidation has resulted in the top 10 carriers controlling 84% of capacity, according to Alphaliner, a fundamental change from the 1990s. “The ‘3-Cs’ have played out on a global scale in the container industry: consolidation, capacity management and the ability to charge [pricing power],” Ruda said. Contact Peter Tirschwell at <a href="mailto:peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com">peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The passing of former NYK Line executive Dodd Fiori on Aug. 16 at 82 is cause to look back on the heyday of his career in the 1990s, a period of profound change in the industry that culminated in an ultimately futile legislative effort to set the industry on a path toward value creation both for itself and its customers. Fiori was a swashbuckling figure who epitomized an era of influential and charismatic US heads of European and Asian container lines — figures who dominated the US landscape with levels of authority that have long since given way to headquarter supremacy within carrier organizations. Figures such as Capt. Nicola Arena of Mediterranean Shipping Co., Oscar J. Abello of “K” Line, Conrad Everhard of Cho Yang, A.B. “Ted” Ruhly of Maersk and Rudy Mack of Hapag-Lloyd rode astride the US industry and had the authority to be go-to sources for deals by shippers and forwarders. The lack of such figures in the US industry today means many large beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) regularly make pilgrimages to carrier headquarters to lock in capacity — the customer traveling to see the vendor — reflecting how the nexus of power within carriers gravitated from regions such as the US to Geneva, Marseille, Shanghai, Hamburg, Singapore and Copenhagen. But years ago, it was the regional leadership that was firmly in charge, especially in the US, where the regional heads were on the frontlines in dealing with customers and regulators. An example was Fiori negotiating NYK’s first contract with Walmart based on the carrier’s new Asia-East Coast via the Suez Canal route, the famed AEX service, which played to the retailer’s desire to land goods closer to East Coast store locations. “While the early 1990’s was still an era where the container industry had sustained periods of excess capacity, the Asia to East Coast [via Panama or Suez] was still somewhat of a niche market and not characterized by severe excess supply; that would of course change,” recalled Sam Ruda, who worked under Fiori before going on to other roles, including heading the Port of New York and New Jersey. “So, in this lane, at least in the early 1990’s, the power balance between the carrier and the shipper was more even,” Ruda said. “Dodd really played into this dynamic in the meeting with Walmart. The West Coast was not really the strategic imperative for Walmart. They needed capacity and service in the emerging East Coast lane from Asia via the canal routings.” Shippers emerge as a ‘power center’ While the 1990s saw the emergence of shippers such as Walmart, whose business model was based on supply chain, parallel and interconnected changes were underway that Fiori and other carrier heads were in the middle of. The period saw the emergence of shippers as a power center and the parallel demise of the decades-old conference system, where rate levels were set by conference carriers with little room for flexibility via “independent action” on rates. The idea to replace that system, supported by Fiori and other US industry leaders, as well as shippers, was enshrined in the deregulatory 1998 Ocean Shipping Reform Act, forged out of consensus among all key players. (That was in direct contrast to OSRA-22, which, in an entirely different political environment, was passed over carriers’ objections). The idea in 1998 was that win-win contractual relationships would result from allowing shippers and carriers for the first time to sign confidential contracts not subject to collective pricing actions by conferences. That vision, it seems fair to say, was never realized. At the first TPM in 2001, then-APL CEO Flemming Jacobs based his keynote speech on the need for value-creating relationships to emerge, which had yet to happen three years after the law passed. It was not hard to understand why. Consolidation at that time was still in its early stages. And persistent overcapacity and most shippers’ unwillingness to pay a premium for reliable service created tensions, especially with traditional conference carriers such as NYK and APL, whose services were based on reliability, with rates set 5% to 10% above non-conference lines. ‘In the middle’ of tension During the 1990s, “the carrier side had sustained periods of overcapacity. Profitability for the carriers was elusive. And this lack of profitability created a lot of underlying tension between the [NYK] home office [in Tokyo] and the regional offices [in the US],” Ruda said. “I think this tension was true across the entire carrier industry. Dodd was right in the middle of this tension.” As the conference system faltered, the deregulated market that replaced it made it increasingly unprofitable for carriers to invest in the extra fuel needed to speed up to maintain schedules. Some carriers spent on extra fuel anyway in an elusive bid to extract premium rates until number crunches later exposed the folly of the spending. That pressure has carried through to the present day, with a key difference being that most carriers seem to have largely given up on the idea of reliability or are minimally focused on it. They prefer instead to see capacity absorbed by port congestion or geopolitical shocks, which resulted in the all-time record profits earned during and after COVID-19, including in the first half of 2025. If Fiori’s day saw the impact of overcapacity, that was partly due to the number of carriers serving the east-west trades being much greater than today. In the 1990s, 12 major conference carriers and five non-conference carriers were operating in the trans-Pacific, said Mike DiVirgilio, who worked under Fiori at NYK. That has now changed. “With a steady stream of mergers, acquisitions and a few bankruptcies, the carrier side has undergone a tectonic transformation,” Ruda said. “From a carrier perspective, consolidation enables significantly improved capability to better manage capacity which then enables improved pricing power and thus, the ability to charge rate levels that offer a return on capital.” While overcapacity is asserting itself again in the second half of 2025, consolidation has resulted in the top 10 carriers controlling 84% of capacity, according to Alphaliner, a fundamental change from the 1990s. “The ‘3-Cs’ have played out on a global scale in the container industry: consolidation, capacity management and the ability to charge [pricing power],” Ruda said. Contact Peter Tirschwell at peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

Container lines

Dodd Fiori’s passing harks back to a bygone era in US shipping

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is expected later this fall to announce the winning bid to run the Contrecoeur terminal. </div>

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is expected later this fall to announce the winning bid to run the Contrecoeur terminal.

<div class="phx-topic">DP World is seeking to operate a long-planned, nearly C$1.6 billion container terminal in Montreal that the new Canadian government is backing amid its shift away from US trade dependence.The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is expected later this fall to announce the winning bid to run the Contrecoeur terminal, which, with an annual capacity of 1.15 million TEUs, would increase Canada’s second-largest container port by capacity 150%. DP World, which operates at Vancouver and Prince Rupert the first- and third-largest ports in Canada, respectively, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-29/dp-world-vies-for-deal-to-run-montreal-port-championed-by-carney">confirmed to Bloomberg</a> that it was involved in project negotiations. DP said in a statement it was always exploring ways to expand its network in Canada and increase investment in the country. “While we see strong potential for developing logistics infrastructure in Montreal that drives economic growth and long-term value, we have no announcements to share at this time,” said a DP World spokesperson. Since the port failed to attract a bidder in 2021, the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/quebec-provides-new-funding-for-proposed-montreal-terminal-citing-us-trade-tensions-5947783">Contrecoeur project has received</a> C$130 million from the Quebec provincial government and C$130 million from Canada’s infrastructure bank for construction. Prime Minister Mark Carney last week said that he was seeking to fast-track the Contrecoeur project and highlighted <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/carney-has-fresh-opportunity-to-galvanize-canadian-shipping-industry-6047928">newly passed legislation streamlining regulatory</a> approval for major infrastructure projects. The C$1.57 billion project, which is located 43 miles downriver from legacy Montreal terminals along the St. Lawrence River, requires extensive dredging and shoring up portions of the waterway. MPA seeks to begin construction as early as October and open the facility in 2029. The authority in 2022 <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-relaunches-search-process-for-contrecoeur-terminal-operator-5204826">sent bid invitations</a> to Axium Infrastructure Canada and Pomerleau Capital, Ports America Holdings, and Terminal Investment Limited, in which Mediterranean Shipping Co. owns a majority stake. The port originally planned to have the first phase of the project finished by 2024 and had identified three finalist but scrapped plans. DP World operates the Centerm facility in Vancouver and solely operates at Prince Rupert and Port Saint John. Montreal’s four existing container terminals are operated by two companies, Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership and Termont Montreal.Container volumes through Montreal last year slipped 1%, to approximately 750,500 TEUs compared with 2023, according to MPA. Sporadic labor issues and the Port of New York and New Jersey’s ability to attract more exports from the Midwest have contributed to volume declines in recent years, with traffic down 8.9% in 2024 compared with 2020. Container volume, however, is up nearly 6.5% in the first seven months of this year on a year-over-year basis. While the port began the project in the late 1980s, work has gathered speed in the last decade, Julie Gascon, CEO and president of MPA, said on a Journal of Commerce webinar on May 22. The need to diversify away from US trade due to high tariffs has only added more momentum to the project. “If there is a 6% shift of Canadian exports from us to other international markets, Montreal would get at capacity very, very quickly, so it’s not just a project for the future, it’s a project that is urgent,” Gascon said. Contact Mark Szakonyi at <a href="mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com">mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

DP World is seeking to operate a long-planned, nearly C$1.6 billion container terminal in Montreal that the new Canadian government is backing amid its shift away from US trade dependence. The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is expected later this fall to announce the winning bid to run the Contrecoeur terminal, which, with an annual capacity of 1.15 million TEUs, would increase Canada’s second-largest container port by capacity 150%. DP World, which operates at Vancouver and Prince Rupert the first- and third-largest ports in Canada, respectively, confirmed to Bloomberg that it was involved in project negotiations. DP said in a statement it was always exploring ways to expand its network in Canada and increase investment in the country. “While we see strong potential for developing logistics infrastructure in Montreal that drives economic growth and long-term value, we have no announcements to share at this time,” said a DP World spokesperson. Since the port failed to attract a bidder in 2021, the Contrecoeur project has received C$130 million from the Quebec provincial government and C$130 million from Canada’s infrastructure bank for construction. Prime Minister Mark Carney last week said that he was seeking to fast-track the Contrecoeur project and highlighted newly passed legislation streamlining regulatory approval for major infrastructure projects. The C$1.57 billion project, which is located 43 miles downriver from legacy Montreal terminals along the St. Lawrence River, requires extensive dredging and shoring up portions of the waterway. MPA seeks to begin construction as early as October and open the facility in 2029. The authority in 2022 sent bid invitations to Axium Infrastructure Canada and Pomerleau Capital, Ports America Holdings, and Terminal Investment Limited, in which Mediterranean Shipping Co. owns a majority stake. The port originally planned to have the first phase of the project finished by 2024 and had identified three finalist but scrapped plans. DP World operates the Centerm facility in Vancouver and solely operates at Prince Rupert and Port Saint John. Montreal’s four existing container terminals are operated by two companies, Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership and Termont Montreal. Container volumes through Montreal last year slipped 1%, to approximately 750,500 TEUs compared with 2023, according to MPA. Sporadic labor issues and the Port of New York and New Jersey’s ability to attract more exports from the Midwest have contributed to volume declines in recent years, with traffic down 8.9% in 2024 compared with 2020. Container volume, however, is up nearly 6.5% in the first seven months of this year on a year-over-year basis. While the port began the project in the late 1980s, work has gathered speed in the last decade, Julie Gascon, CEO and president of MPA, said on a Journal of Commerce webinar on May 22. The need to diversify away from US trade due to high tariffs has only added more momentum to the project. “If there is a 6% shift of Canadian exports from us to other international markets, Montreal would get at capacity very, very quickly, so it’s not just a project for the future, it’s a project that is urgent,” Gascon said. Contact Mark Szakonyi at mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com .

Marine terminals

North American ports

Port News

DP World aims to run Carney-backed Montreal terminal

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Air cargo capacity deployed on Vietnam-US routes nearly doubled in August on a year- over-year basis. </div>

Air cargo capacity deployed on Vietnam-US routes nearly doubled in August on a year- over-year basis.

<div class="phx-topic">Air cargo carriers are swamping the skies with capacity from Vietnam to the United States and Europe to handle steadily rising demand for high-value products as electronics manufacturing shifts away from tariff-hit China. While air cargo volume data is not yet available for August, the huge demand on Vietnam’s export routes, particularly on the trans-Pacific, can be measured via the amount of air freight capacity deployed since the US tariffs on China were imposed in April. Data from air cargo analyst Rotate shows capacity deployed on Vietnam-US routes increased by 95% year over year in August to 2,400 metric tons. The capacity increase in the previous four months was even greater compared with last year as air cargo carriers injected freighters into Vietnam routes that were previously served indirectly. Rotate analyst Tim van Leeuwen said although most Vietnam trade was still carried indirectly via China, Hong Kong or other Asian hubs, the steep increase in direct capacity was a solid indicator of growth in the market. Capacity growth on Vietnam-Europe routes served mostly via the Middle East was pedestrian by comparison, rising 39% in August, 55% in July, 40% in June, 44% in May and increasing by 16% in April, according to Rotate. Kathy Liu, vice president of global sales and marketing at Taiwan-based Dimerco Express Group, said manufacturers diversifying their China operations over the past year in anticipation of US tariffs under President Donald Trump are now starting to produce finished goods for the US and European markets. “This is the first year the production lines that moved to Vietnam have started to deliver finished goods and we can expect a peak season to start in September from Vietnam outbound to the US and Europe,” Liu said. Van Leeuwen said US technology imports from Vietnam were up 91% in the first six months, with the import of computers up 113%, driven by growth in laptops that reached 71,000 metric tons. He said the growth rate for headphones and earphones in the first six months was 318%. <h3>Laptop export boom </h3>Glyn Hughes, director general of The International Air Cargo Association (Tiaca), said electronics, and particularly laptops, have “dramatically increased” on Vietnam to US trade lanes. “We think the increase to Europe is then a spillover from the overall production shift from China to Vietnam,” he told the Journal of Commerce Monday. “We aren’t hearing that accessing capacity is a problem, which would indicate good planning by manufacturers and their forwarders.” <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="c92e1ad7-70ff-4275-9528-8f939a9ee052"></dynamic-object></div>A spokesperson for Kuehne + Nagel said Vietnam has emerged as a leading global air freight growth market, and the forwarder expected this trend to continue. “Kuehne + Nagel is seeing strong air cargo demand from Vietnam to the US, driven by high tech, electronics and semiconductors cargo,” the spokesperson said, adding that in support of the rapid growth in export volume, Kuehne + Nagel and its Asian subsidiary Apex were operating 14 self-managed flights per week from Vietnam to the US. The US imposed 20% tariffs on Vietnamese exports in July, significantly less that those threatened on China, but at the same time threatened to impose a 40% tariff on any <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trumps-vietnam-transshipment-tariff-puzzles-us-trade-community-6041482">exports “transshipped” via Vietnam</a>. The US estimates that up to 30% of goods shipped from Vietnam to the US is actually produced in China, but there is no data to support the claim. Still, the 40% tariff threat appears to be serving its purpose, according to Hughes. “I asked [Tiaca members] about transshipment via Vietnam, which doesn’t seem to be happening, so the threat of increased tariffs is stopping that activity,” he said. Liu said she was also not seeing any transshipment duties being imposed on Vietnamese exports. “Those products do not belong to transshipment cargo as the manufacturers are all based in Vietnam,” she told the Journal of Commerce. “Unless there is some specific regulation and definition for ‘transshipment cargo,’ at the current stage it looks fine.” <h3>Tariff uncertainty dogs China-US routes </h3>While Vietnam’s air cargo exports are booming, tariff uncertainty continues to suppress demand on China-US routes. International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures for July show volume on Asia-North America, a corridor that carries 24.4% of global volume, declined 1% year over year. “Most major trade lanes reported growth, with one significant exception: Asia-North America,” Willie Walsh, IATA director general, noted in his latest monthly update. “A sharp decline in e-commerce as the US de minimis exemptions on small shipments expired was likely offset by shippers frontloading goods in advance of rising tariffs for imports to the US,” he added. “August will likely reveal more clearly the impact of shifting US trade policies.” The Trump administration on May 2 <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/air-cargo-volumes-fall-on-trans-pacific-as-us-de-minimis-changes-loom-5993599">eliminated the de minimis exemption for low-value imports from China</a>, and on May 29 <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/postal-groups-cite-customs-compliance-issues-in-us-shipment-suspensions-6070276">removed the exemption for all countries</a>. While most of the industry attention was focused on developments in markets connected to the US, Walsh noted that “it is important to keep a broad perspective on the global network.” “A fifth of air cargo travels on the Europe-Asia trade lane, which marked 29 months of consecutive expansion with 13.5% year-over-year growth in July,” he said. Rotate data shows China-Europe air cargo capacity deployed increased by 20,000 metric tons in August to 129,800 metric tons. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Air cargo carriers are swamping the skies with capacity from Vietnam to the United States and Europe to handle steadily rising demand for high-value products as electronics manufacturing shifts away from tariff-hit China. While air cargo volume data is not yet available for August, the huge demand on Vietnam’s export routes, particularly on the trans-Pacific, can be measured via the amount of air freight capacity deployed since the US tariffs on China were imposed in April. Data from air cargo analyst Rotate shows capacity deployed on Vietnam-US routes increased by 95% year over year in August to 2,400 metric tons. The capacity increase in the previous four months was even greater compared with last year as air cargo carriers injected freighters into Vietnam routes that were previously served indirectly. Rotate analyst Tim van Leeuwen said although most Vietnam trade was still carried indirectly via China, Hong Kong or other Asian hubs, the steep increase in direct capacity was a solid indicator of growth in the market. Capacity growth on Vietnam-Europe routes served mostly via the Middle East was pedestrian by comparison, rising 39% in August, 55% in July, 40% in June, 44% in May and increasing by 16% in April, according to Rotate. Kathy Liu, vice president of global sales and marketing at Taiwan-based Dimerco Express Group, said manufacturers diversifying their China operations over the past year in anticipation of US tariffs under President Donald Trump are now starting to produce finished goods for the US and European markets. “This is the first year the production lines that moved to Vietnam have started to deliver finished goods and we can expect a peak season to start in September from Vietnam outbound to the US and Europe,” Liu said. Van Leeuwen said US technology imports from Vietnam were up 91% in the first six months, with the import of computers up 113%, driven by growth in laptops that reached 71,000 metric tons. He said the growth rate for headphones and earphones in the first six months was 318%. Laptop export boom Glyn Hughes, director general of The International Air Cargo Association (Tiaca), said electronics, and particularly laptops, have “dramatically increased” on Vietnam to US trade lanes. “We think the increase to Europe is then a spillover from the overall production shift from China to Vietnam,” he told the Journal of Commerce Monday. “We aren’t hearing that accessing capacity is a problem, which would indicate good planning by manufacturers and their forwarders.” A spokesperson for Kuehne + Nagel said Vietnam has emerged as a leading global air freight growth market, and the forwarder expected this trend to continue. “Kuehne + Nagel is seeing strong air cargo demand from Vietnam to the US, driven by high tech, electronics and semiconductors cargo,” the spokesperson said, adding that in support of the rapid growth in export volume, Kuehne + Nagel and its Asian subsidiary Apex were operating 14 self-managed flights per week from Vietnam to the US. The US imposed 20% tariffs on Vietnamese exports in July, significantly less that those threatened on China, but at the same time threatened to impose a 40% tariff on any exports “transshipped” via Vietnam . The US estimates that up to 30% of goods shipped from Vietnam to the US is actually produced in China, but there is no data to support the claim. Still, the 40% tariff threat appears to be serving its purpose, according to Hughes. “I asked [Tiaca members] about transshipment via Vietnam, which doesn’t seem to be happening, so the threat of increased tariffs is stopping that activity,” he said. Liu said she was also not seeing any transshipment duties being imposed on Vietnamese exports. “Those products do not belong to transshipment cargo as the manufacturers are all based in Vietnam,” she told the Journal of Commerce. “Unless there is some specific regulation and definition for ‘transshipment cargo,’ at the current stage it looks fine.” Tariff uncertainty dogs China-US routes While Vietnam’s air cargo exports are booming, tariff uncertainty continues to suppress demand on China-US routes. International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures for July show volume on Asia-North America, a corridor that carries 24.4% of global volume, declined 1% year over year. “Most major trade lanes reported growth, with one significant exception: Asia-North America,” Willie Walsh, IATA director general, noted in his latest monthly update. “A sharp decline in e-commerce as the US de minimis exemptions on small shipments expired was likely offset by shippers frontloading goods in advance of rising tariffs for imports to the US,” he added. “August will likely reveal more clearly the impact of shifting US trade policies.” The Trump administration on May 2 eliminated the de minimis exemption for low-value imports from China , and on May 29 removed the exemption for all countries . While most of the industry attention was focused on developments in markets connected to the US, Walsh noted that “it is important to keep a broad perspective on the global network.” “A fifth of air cargo travels on the Europe-Asia trade lane, which marked 29 months of consecutive expansion with 13.5% year-over-year growth in July,” he said. Rotate data shows China-Europe air cargo capacity deployed increased by 20,000 metric tons in August to 129,800 metric tons. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Air Cargo Carriers News

Air Cargo

Vietnam air cargo exports jump on weaker China demand

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carriers, because they offer services tailored to their customers’ needs, say they are “sheltered” somewhat from declining spot rates given they are able to charge a premium for those services.</div>

The carriers, because they offer services tailored to their customers’ needs, say they are “sheltered” somewhat from declining spot rates given they are able to charge a premium for those services.

<div class="phx-topic">Several niche carriers that added tonnage to the trans-Pacific trade over the past year say they aren’t going anywhere despite retreating spot rates and the downward pressure tariffs are exerting on US imports from Asia. Those carriers, offering services tailored to their customers’ needs, say they are sheltered somewhat from declining spot rates because they charge a premium for their services that provide expedited ocean transport from Asia and Southeast Asia and, oftentimes, next-day container availability for landside pickup. “We’re fairly sheltered from the spot rates because 80% of our cargo is BCO [beneficial cargo owner] contracted cargo,” said Duncan Wright, president of third-party logistics provider UWL, which offers <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/uwl-locks-in-new-vessel-partner-for-trans-pacific-vietnam-service-6032327">the bi-weekly Sun Chief Express service</a> from Vietnam to Seattle. The ocean transit is 19 days from the last port call at Ho Chi Minh City to the Seattle gateway, while most other lines are 20-plus days, Wright told the Journal of Commerce Friday. China-based Hede Shipping in July launched its <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hede-shipping-to-launch-third-expedited-service-from-china-to-los-angeles-6034891">third expedited service from China to Los Angeles</a>, zeroing in on the e-commerce sector with its expedited transit times and quick delivery of containers upon discharge from vessels. A Hede representative confirmed that newest service is in operation. Premium niche services offered by UWL, Hede and Matson appeal to BCOs with specific requirements based upon their customers’ needs. For example, customers of UWL’s Sun Chief service focus on footwear importers who are based in Southeast Asia and ship through Seattle, which offers direct inland point intermodal (IPI) rail service to markets such as Minneapolis and Chicago, Wright said. <h3>Huge spot rate swings this year </h3>The niche carriers, which also include SeaLead and CU Lines, entered the trans-Pacific trades in 2024 when spot and freight-all-kinds (FAK) rates surged as high as $7,800 per FEU to the US West Coast and $10,000 per FEU to the East Coast, according to PIERS, a Journal of Commerce sister product within S&amp;P Global. Niche carriers account for about 4.5% of total capacity on the trans-Pacific trade to the West Coast, about the same percentage in the post-COVID-19 import surge in 2021–22, Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis, said in his Sunday Spotlight newsletter this week. While that market share is not enough to prevent a further slide in spot rates, the continued presence of the niche lines in the trans-Pacific indicates they are not just “opportunistic” carriers that came into the trade when spot rates were high and plan to leave if rates drop too low, he said. “These carriers are seemingly staying on the trade lane ... and it seems as if they are continuing to introduce capacity on the trade lane,” Murphy said. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="e9676ea4-c6b9-4589-9a4b-822a9c82e2f8"></dynamic-object></div>Given the volatile nature of the trans-Pacific market so far this year, with major rate spikes in January and June followed by plunging prices in subsequent months, the niche lines apparently have ample cash on hand to weather the current downturn. Spot rates from Asia to the West Coast as of Thursday were $1,500 per FEU, according to Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global; Drewry pegged the market at $2,332 per FEU. “Pulling the plug is a tough decision because the money, when available, was so lucrative there’s the hope such margins will return,” said Stephen Nothdurft, vice president of sales at the forwarder MOL Consolidation Service. “It seems the current operators are taking a hard look at their commitments and calculating a longer-term strategy,” he said. “Maybe the new normal is continued chaos, so the smaller players are staying in place, building a viable clientele, [and] preparing to pounce when another catastrophe hits the liner market,” Nothdurft said. <h3>Premium rates can only do so much </h3>Still, if spot/FAK rates continue to drift below $1,500 to the West Coast, and possibly lower, some niche lines will find it difficult to sustain the losses for very long, an executive at an alliance carrier told the Journal of Commerce. “Even with an upcharge of $500-$600 [per FEU], it’s not going to be enough,” said the executive, who did not want to be identified. “The niche carriers, like all lines, have fixed costs such as bunker fuel, port fees and crew costs.” The source said $2,000 per FEU is the breakeven spot for most carriers’ West Coast business, adding their presence on the eastbound trans-Pacific “can’t last forever.” The challenge these carriers face is that rates are also depressed in the intra-Asia trade, and the small vessels they deploy in the range of 3,000-TEU capacity are not suited for the long-distance Asia-Europe trades, he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:Laura.Robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Several niche carriers that added tonnage to the trans-Pacific trade over the past year say they aren’t going anywhere despite retreating spot rates and the downward pressure tariffs are exerting on US imports from Asia. Those carriers, offering services tailored to their customers’ needs, say they are sheltered somewhat from declining spot rates because they charge a premium for their services that provide expedited ocean transport from Asia and Southeast Asia and, oftentimes, next-day container availability for landside pickup. “We’re fairly sheltered from the spot rates because 80% of our cargo is BCO [beneficial cargo owner] contracted cargo,” said Duncan Wright, president of third-party logistics provider UWL, which offers the bi-weekly Sun Chief Express service from Vietnam to Seattle. The ocean transit is 19 days from the last port call at Ho Chi Minh City to the Seattle gateway, while most other lines are 20-plus days, Wright told the Journal of Commerce Friday. China-based Hede Shipping in July launched its third expedited service from China to Los Angeles , zeroing in on the e-commerce sector with its expedited transit times and quick delivery of containers upon discharge from vessels. A Hede representative confirmed that newest service is in operation. Premium niche services offered by UWL, Hede and Matson appeal to BCOs with specific requirements based upon their customers’ needs. For example, customers of UWL’s Sun Chief service focus on footwear importers who are based in Southeast Asia and ship through Seattle, which offers direct inland point intermodal (IPI) rail service to markets such as Minneapolis and Chicago, Wright said. Huge spot rate swings this year The niche carriers, which also include SeaLead and CU Lines, entered the trans-Pacific trades in 2024 when spot and freight-all-kinds (FAK) rates surged as high as $7,800 per FEU to the US West Coast and $10,000 per FEU to the East Coast, according to PIERS, a Journal of Commerce sister product within S&P Global. Niche carriers account for about 4.5% of total capacity on the trans-Pacific trade to the West Coast, about the same percentage in the post-COVID-19 import surge in 2021–22, Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis, said in his Sunday Spotlight newsletter this week. While that market share is not enough to prevent a further slide in spot rates, the continued presence of the niche lines in the trans-Pacific indicates they are not just “opportunistic” carriers that came into the trade when spot rates were high and plan to leave if rates drop too low, he said. “These carriers are seemingly staying on the trade lane ... and it seems as if they are continuing to introduce capacity on the trade lane,” Murphy said. Given the volatile nature of the trans-Pacific market so far this year, with major rate spikes in January and June followed by plunging prices in subsequent months, the niche lines apparently have ample cash on hand to weather the current downturn. Spot rates from Asia to the West Coast as of Thursday were $1,500 per FEU, according to Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global; Drewry pegged the market at $2,332 per FEU. “Pulling the plug is a tough decision because the money, when available, was so lucrative there’s the hope such margins will return,” said Stephen Nothdurft, vice president of sales at the forwarder MOL Consolidation Service. “It seems the current operators are taking a hard look at their commitments and calculating a longer-term strategy,” he said. “Maybe the new normal is continued chaos, so the smaller players are staying in place, building a viable clientele, [and] preparing to pounce when another catastrophe hits the liner market,” Nothdurft said. Premium rates can only do so much Still, if spot/FAK rates continue to drift below $1,500 to the West Coast, and possibly lower, some niche lines will find it difficult to sustain the losses for very long, an executive at an alliance carrier told the Journal of Commerce. “Even with an upcharge of $500-$600 [per FEU], it’s not going to be enough,” said the executive, who did not want to be identified. “The niche carriers, like all lines, have fixed costs such as bunker fuel, port fees and crew costs.” The source said $2,000 per FEU is the breakeven spot for most carriers’ West Coast business, adding their presence on the eastbound trans-Pacific “can’t last forever.” The challenge these carriers face is that rates are also depressed in the intra-Asia trade, and the small vessels they deploy in the range of 3,000-TEU capacity are not suited for the long-distance Asia-Europe trades, he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com .

Trans-Pacific

Niche carriers plan to ride out declining spot rates on the trans-Pacific

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The four-year pacts with Hutchison Ports Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal were confirmed by the Maritime Union of Australia on Thursday.</div>

The four-year pacts with Hutchison Ports Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal were confirmed by the Maritime Union of Australia on Thursday.

<div class="phx-topic">Shipper groups in Australia are welcoming separate deals inked between two terminal operators and dockworkers, saying the agreements will bring a sustained period of industrial peace on the country’s waterfront after years of disruption. The four-year pacts with Hutchison Ports Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal were confirmed by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) on Thursday. Along with significant pay increases for workers, the agreements curtail the implementation of new technology systems. That includes a ban on automated equipment at Hutchison’s Sydney and Brisbane terminals and limits on the implementation and use of AI and other technologies at VICT in Melbourne without the agreement of the workforce. The MUA said the curbs on automation mean “no remote cranes, no driverless trucks, no job-destroying machines.” Tom Jensen, general manager for freight policy and operations at the Freight &amp; Trade Alliance (FTA), a shipper group, said the latest labor agreements and those reached earlier with other operators including DP World, should prevent any labor action at major terminals for the next four years. FTA members include Alibaba (Australia,) Caterpillar, Kmart and Target. “The industry is set for a rare period of stability across all container terminals through to 2028–29 — delivering much-needed certainty for importers, exporters, freight forwarders, customs brokers and logistics providers in a period of heightened geopolitical tensions and ongoing volatility in global shipping,” Jensen told the Journal of Commerce. Jensen, who also represents the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA), welcomed the settlements because they were achieved without protracted disputes and industrial action that characterized negotiations with other operators. DP World faced four months of strikes and limited working by stevedores at its terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle before agreeing to a new labor pact in February 2024. Jensen said Hutchison wanted “a quick negotiation to avoid any disruption to the supply chain.” “Terminal operators appear to have taken a more proactive approach in recent negotiations, entering talks earlier than usual,” he said. <h3>Pay hikes, new jobs</h3>The MUA said the Hutchison deal includes a pay increase of 18.25% over four years for the 350 dockworkers employed at its terminals in Sydney and Brisbane. The agreement with VICT, owned by Philippines-headquartered International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), creates at least 46 new permanent jobs and includes a 46% pay increase for casual workers and cuts in average weekly hours, the MUA said. A Hutchison source said its agreement provides increased flexibility with labor resources and the availability to better match vessel arrivals at Sydney’s Port Botany and Brisbane while offering improved service to landside railroad and truck operators. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>.</div>

Shipper groups in Australia are welcoming separate deals inked between two terminal operators and dockworkers, saying the agreements will bring a sustained period of industrial peace on the country’s waterfront after years of disruption. The four-year pacts with Hutchison Ports Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal were confirmed by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) on Thursday. Along with significant pay increases for workers, the agreements curtail the implementation of new technology systems. That includes a ban on automated equipment at Hutchison’s Sydney and Brisbane terminals and limits on the implementation and use of AI and other technologies at VICT in Melbourne without the agreement of the workforce. The MUA said the curbs on automation mean “no remote cranes, no driverless trucks, no job-destroying machines.” Tom Jensen, general manager for freight policy and operations at the Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA), a shipper group, said the latest labor agreements and those reached earlier with other operators including DP World, should prevent any labor action at major terminals for the next four years. FTA members include Alibaba (Australia,) Caterpillar, Kmart and Target. “The industry is set for a rare period of stability across all container terminals through to 2028–29 — delivering much-needed certainty for importers, exporters, freight forwarders, customs brokers and logistics providers in a period of heightened geopolitical tensions and ongoing volatility in global shipping,” Jensen told the Journal of Commerce. Jensen, who also represents the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA), welcomed the settlements because they were achieved without protracted disputes and industrial action that characterized negotiations with other operators. DP World faced four months of strikes and limited working by stevedores at its terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle before agreeing to a new labor pact in February 2024. Jensen said Hutchison wanted “a quick negotiation to avoid any disruption to the supply chain.” “Terminal operators appear to have taken a more proactive approach in recent negotiations, entering talks earlier than usual,” he said. Pay hikes, new jobs The MUA said the Hutchison deal includes a pay increase of 18.25% over four years for the 350 dockworkers employed at its terminals in Sydney and Brisbane. The agreement with VICT, owned by Philippines-headquartered International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), creates at least 46 new permanent jobs and includes a 46% pay increase for casual workers and cuts in average weekly hours, the MUA said. A Hutchison source said its agreement provides increased flexibility with labor resources and the availability to better match vessel arrivals at Sydney’s Port Botany and Brisbane while offering improved service to landside railroad and truck operators. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

International ports

Longshore labor

Shipper groups say terminal deals will bring labor peace to Australia’s wharves

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At SSA Marine Mexico, we firmly believe that business development must go hand in hand with social and environmental well-being. Our vision is not solely focused on operating efficiently, but also on creating a meaningful and positive impact in the communities where we are present. Since 1995, we have reaffirmed this commitment through tangible actions that reflect our core values of responsibility, solidarity, and sustainability. <span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-3_2 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="3:2"><img src="/content-assets/1752584535914_Photo%201.jpg" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"> A Year of Major Achievements Over the past year, we allocated more than $107,000 USD to the implementation of 60 social and environmental projects, positively impacting over 7,800 people across various regions of Mexico. 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