Container lines

The dizzying pace of the Trump administration’s moves against longtime US trading partners is putting shippers at risk of facing hefty new costs as a result of tariff “stacking.”

But Yang Ming said significant uncertainties continue to affect the global trade outlook, saying “key risk factors” include US tariff developments that could lead to inflationary pressures due to rising operational costs.

The Cosco Shipping subsidiary recorded another highly profitable year but pointed to growing geopolitical uncertainties and industry-specific challenges that will test container shipping in the year ahead.

While shippers might have expected ocean carriers to make application programming interfaces widely available by 2025, negative incentives have inhibited that progress.

Zim’s decision to keep more capacity available for spot rather than contract business on the trans-Pacific allowed it to capitalize on the expanded deployment of capacity on the trade.

While the 15-month-old Red Sea crisis is ever present, ocean carriers and their customers are also now navigating the vagaries of the trade policies and proposals of the Trump administration.

After raising rates in anticipation of higher volumes, several top carriers have now dropped spot booking rates from West India to North Europe by between $300 and $500 per container, according to freight forwarder sources in Mumbai.

As a top tier of mega carriers has emerged through consolidation and organic growth, so has the need of those carriers to align their dominance on the ocean with capacity at ports.

The threat underscores the fragility of the Red Sea security situation and the reluctance of ocean carriers to return to Suez Canal transits until the safety of crew, ships and cargo can be guaranteed. 

Having control over port operations has become a key element of container shipping that enables the fast turnaround of ships and improved schedule reliability.

The so-called Ocean Shipper Bill of Rights was distributed by the National Industrial Transportation League at the conclusion of the Journal of Commerce’s TPM25 conference.

The carrier’s investment, announced while its chief executive met at the White House with President Donald Trump, comes amid heightened political sensitivities in the US as far as the container shipping industry is concerned.

Major carriers on the India-US East Coast trade are reporting success on their March rate recovery efforts, thanks in large part to recent sailing cuts, prompting some of them to announce even higher increases for next month.

The new service that will start in April will enhance Vietnam’s connectivity with Brazil, which is already Vietnam’s largest trading partner in Latin America.

The bleak timeline from Europe’s busiest port is based on the chaos that resulted when the Ever Given was freed after six days of blocking the Suez Canal in 2021.

ONE’s chief executive took the opportunity of TPM’s silver anniversary to look back at how the industry has changed for the better over the years and call out some of the existing hurdles.

While the new network will need two cycles to be fully phased in through the next two or three months, the Hapag-Lloyd CEO said Gemini was “off to a good start” with 550 port calls made so far and 45 of 57 services already started.

Should the Trump administration’s proposal be implemented, capacity will have to be withdrawn from the US and redeployed to where it makes more economical sense, the CEO of the world’s largest ocean carrier said.

The carrier’s new investment push seems to be an attempt to catch up with its peers, particularly MSC, which has dedicated terminals at Mundra and Ennore/Chennai through joint venture arrangements with Adani.

The French liner joined the ranks of its profitable peers, announcing Friday that its net profit rose 2% to $5.7 billion last year on an 18% rise in revenue to $55.5 billion.

The measures are the latest in a series of support packages announced by South Korean trade organizations and government bodies to help the country’s small and medium-sized exporters weather capacity restrictions and volatile freight rates.

Container lines in the US’ busiest trade lane, determined to avoid a repeat of last year when they believe they significantly underpriced their services, are seeking rate gains of 20% to 30% for the upcoming service year.

The cost of the US Trade Representative’s proposal for levying fees on Chinese ships and ocean carriers would fall to US shippers, who would also face fewer service options, the analyst says.

While the US-based carrier experienced a strong 2024, growth this year is under threat due to tariffs and the unknowns involving when Red Sea transits will resume.

The carrier has replaced the huge vessels with smaller ships in a move to cut capacity and reduce pressure on rates that have plummeted since the start of the year, according to the analyst.

Newfound pricing power for carriers has halted the steady rate declines seen on the trade since last August.

Labor peace at US East and Gulf coast ports is now ensured through September 2030 after the union’s rank and file approved the new labor agreement.

Shipper, forwarder and customs broker associations want to see the members of the Digital Container Shipping Association accelerate efforts to create interoperable process standards.

The second tender from the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance calls for a carrier or a consortium of liners to move the equivalent of 1.5 million TEUs across the Pacific on ships powered by renewable synthetic fuels.

The FMC’s modified ruling in the TCW-Evergreen complaint allows room for carriers to charge late fees during port closures if the fees are reasonable.

The US Trade Representative said the proposed fees are designed to counter China’s influence over the global shipbuilding and maritime industry.

The poor operating conditions look set to continue this year, likely keeping container handling numbers under pressure at Europe’s third-largest port.

Forwarders say demand expectations for trans-Pacific imports to North America are softening for the second quarter, forcing liners to reduce peak season surcharges that have been in place for almost a year.

Cargo tracking shows no clear advantage for Chinese-based ocean carriers transiting the critical waterway, throwing doubt on the US president’s claims of China’s influence, according to a report from the visibility data provider.

A dispute over severance pay compensation has resulted in a series of walkouts by dockworkers at Rotterdam’s Delta II terminal over the past month, severely disrupting the handling of deep-sea vessels, regional feeder ship calls and inland-bound cargo.

The threat dynamic in the Houthi-controlled area remains too high for ocean carriers to consider ending diversions around southern Africa, and higher insurance costs likely await when they do.

The carrier has inked an MOU with Cochin Shipyard Ltd., India’s largest facility, pledging to work together on shipbuilding and ship repair services.

Vessel capacity for shippers was a given in the early days of TPM, but since then, carrier customers have faced an accelerating assault on capacity coming from both outside the industry and within, writes Peter Tirschwell.

SeaLead is offering a new service from Turkey after Hapag-Lloyd ended one of its standalone loops following the launch of the Gemini alliance with Maersk.

Spot rates on the eastbound corridor are fast converging on long-term prices, and carriers want to lock in cargo owners ahead of a return to Red Sea transits and the resulting capacity overhang.