Breakbulk carriers

Container carriers are adding incremental capacity to their regional and feeder liner services with MPV and other non-container ships, maritime analyst Alphaliner says.

While spillover cargo flows back to the container market, a strong breakbulk market is keeping the MPV sector afloat.

Pandemic congestion may be easing as container rates fall, but breakbulk spillover cargo shows no sign of slowing at the Port of New Orleans.

Carrier53, a joint venture of a breakbulk vessel operator and container manufacturer, said it will offer trans-Pacific sailings from China to the US West Coast with a special emphasis on domestic intermodal containers.

Easing container congestion and the summer “doldrums” have sent MPV rates drifting downward, but carriers expect energy-related demand and tight capacity to keep the sector healthy in the long term.

Congestion and unreliable service from liner carriers is driving some cold chain shippers back to the conventional reefer fleet

SAL joins competitors AAL and UHL with firm orders for multipurpose newbuild vessels, even as charter rates soften a bit from their current high levels.

Uncertainty and congestion are undermining market confidence, but MPV rates are expected to stay well above pre-pandemic levels, according to breakbulk analysts.

The breakbulk industry’s scramble to manage spillover cargo is ebbing as shippers' need for alternative tonnage eases, but that does not necessarily mean a rush back to pre-COVID norms.

Old-fashioned breakbulk and supply chain skills have served shippers well in the “spillover” market, and some practices may linger after the container market normalizes.

No “summer slump” is expected for the multipurpose sector even though softening spot rates for container shipping will send some spillover shippers back to boxes.

The latest vessels in UHL’s F-900 series will be built in Hudong, China, and are due to be delivered in late 2023 and early 2024.

A tightening supply of multipurpose ships bodes well for carriers and their bottom lines, but signals a higher “new normal” ahead for breakbulk and project shippers.

Breakbulk importers must navigate complex sanctions rules and a CBP crackdown on goods made with forced labor, attendees at JOC’s 2022 Breakbulk and Project Cargo conference were told.

Severely limited warehousing capacity at North American ports is adding to the challenges facing breakbulk shippers in 2022, attendees at JOC’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo conference were told.

Multipurpose and heavy-lift vessel capacity will remain tight for years, keeping upward pressure on pricing, carrier executives said at the JOC Breakbulk & Project Cargo conference.

Although rates could plateau or slide as global stressors impact the MPV market, underlying demand will not soften as the energy transition accelerates.

Combi Lift will serve as a wholesale "integrator" of owner Harren & Partner’s assets, including the carriers SAL Heavy Lift and Intermarine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could exacerbate a tonnage shortage in the global MPV/HL sector driven by ongoing container-side congestion and spillover cargo.

While Antonov's smaller AN-124s continue to operate, restoring the behemoth AN-225 will take five years and cost more than $3 billion, according to the Ukrainian government's news outlet.

MPV/HL newbuildings expand dship, BBC Chartering fleet as AAL places orders for a total of six new ships.

While a rate "plateau" may be looming, container congestion and equipment supply shortages will continue to push spillover cargo into the MPV sector, analysts say

Soaring freight rates are incentivizing MPV carriers to turn down lower-value backhauls and return empty to load ports.

Extra-loaders carrying spillover cargo are dramatically increasing container imports at the Port of Everett in Washington state.

In a bid for predictability, shippers are signing up for long-term MPV charters despite rocketing rates fueled by strong cargo demand from traditional customers and freight forwarders managing spillover container cargo.

While newbuildings add needed tonnage to the MPV/HL fleet, they will not stave off what sector participants say is a looming capacity shortage.

"Spillover" demand in the MPV/HL carrier segment is not yet slowing, thanks to ongoing port congestion and shippers willing to use alternatives to traditional container shipping.

While the urgency of containers being carried on multipurpose/heavy-lift vessels is easing, the spillover market will continue to affect the MPV sector into 2023, analysts say.

Lasse Kristoffersen, former CEO of bulk operator Torvald Klaveness, will take the helm of Wallenius Wilhelmsen

Consolidation and a looming capacity shortage will shape the MPV sector once the spillover market has calmed.

Both shipper panic and carrier euphoria are calming as the breakbulk market becomes more predictable, albeit at higher rates.

A strong short-term market is pushing MPV/HL demand, but carriers sense the market frenzy is abating.

While the “spillover” container market that is driving up MPV rates and creating a capacity shortage will eventually dissipate, in the longer term a low orderbook could mean a capacity shortage, analyst Drewry says.

The spillover market will not dissipate until box rates dip below five figures, according to Geodis' senior VP for global ocean freight.

Skyrocketing demand is pushing imports into the US toward MPV/HL and other non-container carriers in a wave of spillover cargo.

In a change from long-held norms, earlier contracting is becoming more standard in the breakbulk and project market as cargo shippers labor to secure capacity and reduce risk and price volatility.

Oslo-based Höegh’s latest order for vehicle carriers comes amid growth in imports of China-made vehicles at European ports.

Container shippers are increasingly switching to breakbulk solutions to move their cargo, pushing MPV/HL bookings into the fall and driving up rates.

Controlling dangerous wood-boring pests in wood packaging material will require more consistent enforcement across the US and helping the private sector learn how to look for these pests themselves.

Forward bookings are becoming the norm as some MPV/HL carriers require premiums for laycan dates, and a dearth of newbuildings in the sector implies that the current market will not slow down in the short term.