Container lines

Carriers have attempted to improve the supply/demand scenario across Indian trades by scaling up empty container repositioning and adding new services.

Logistics software provider Freightos is being taken public on the Nasdaq, a move that will be closely scrutinized by the founders and investors of growth-stage technology providers in the logistics industry.

Given that cargo flow into the US is currently getting worse, not better, any reduction in port congestion will take until late this year to arrive, if not longer, according to ocean carriers and forwarders.

ONE’s order of 10 new ships designed to run on alternative fuels is part of the Singapore-based carrier’s $20 billion plan to overhaul its fleet.

Global shipping schedule reliability was relatively unchanged in April, with two-thirds of container ships arriving late or too early for their port berth windows.

The drive to decarbonize the maritime industry has gained a foothold in Asia with the forming of a Lloyd’s Register-backed fuel transition alliance.

Thailand-based Regional Container Lines is adding a new intra-Asia service out of Ho Chi Minh starting June 22, following the recent trend of expanded capacity to and from Indian ports in response to sustained demand.

With importers taking longer to pick up their containers from overflowing terminals at hub ports in North Europe, ship delays are increasing, particularly for the largest vessels serving the Asia–Europe trade.

US retail spending is increasing despite inflationary pressures, while bookings and port volumes remain strong, suggesting the inventory warnings of Walmart and Target have not hit the larger retail industry yet.

Major carriers are skipping port calls and changing around schedules for services into Canada and the US East Coast amid high congestion and vessel delays.

Walmart remained atop the list of the 100 largest US importers by a wide margin in 2021, while Koch Industries retained the No. 1 export spot.

Profits reaped by carriers during the COVID-19 pandemic will result in greater strategic differentiation among carriers, while tensions with China could cause shippers to rethink their reliance on the world’s manufacturing hub.

Executives say Zim will use its record quarterly profits to pay shareholder dividends, purchase new ships, and possibly to acquire a regional intra-Asia line, if the right opportunity arises.

Intra-Asia carriers are posting record first-quarter profits, stepping into a profitable void left by mainline carriers who redeployed capacity to more lucrative east-west trades.

Fresh Del Monte is offering slots and logistics services to other companies as the fresh produce shipper sees an opportunity to use six new vessels to drive logistics services.

Hapag-Lloyd's sensor initiative is aimed at maximizing the use of its container fleet in an environment where global port congestion has reduced the number of turns each box makes on an annual basis.

Top carriers operating out of India have revived no-show container fees, which range between $100 and $400 per box but can go as high as $1,000 for low-volume spot customers.

Container line earnings continue to hit record highs for the first quarter, with HMM the latest carrier to report a highly profitable start to the year.

Uncertainty surrounding the timing and speed at which Shanghai’s logistics sector will fully reopen after COVID lockdowns is making it difficult for US shippers and forwarders to plan for the second half of the year.

With elevated contract rates already locked in, Hapag-Lloyd says a deteriorating spot market will not be enough to prevent another year of record profitability for the carrier.

The share of US imports from China compared to all Asia imports plunged roughly 6 percentage points between February and April amid COVID-19 lockdowns in Shenzhen and Shanghai.

The presence of container shippers at JOC’s recent breakbulk conference shows that while global container volumes are slowing, plenty of logistics managers are concerned enough about future capacity on US trades.

US retailers are moving shipments forward in a bid to build inventories before inflation drives prices too high and weakens consumer spending.

China’s COVID lockdowns, the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices, and declining global container volumes are muddying the trade outlook waters this year.

California’s two senators are pushing ocean carriers to provide more export containers to stem billions of dollars in losses they say the state’s agricultural industry has suffered recently.

Amid heightened scrutiny from Washington, US regulators want the three major container shipping alliances to report more detailed information on pricing and capacity deployment on services in which they share slot capacity.

For the second time in two weeks, a container line has been assessed a US civil penalty for collecting detention fees last year when it allegedly did not provide drayage providers with a means to return empty containers.

Chinese exporters could produce another trans-Pacific bullwhip when stalled shipments start moving again, with major stakeholders warning of a surge of delayed shipments.

Maersk has most of its capacity locked in under annual or multi-year deals, which company executives believe will drive continued profitability even with falling spot rates and slowing demand.

Beyond COVID, it’s time to start thinking about coming developments in ocean shipping, including the potential breakup — and reassembly — of the container carrier alliances, writes JOC analyst Lars Jensen. 

In the first four months of 2022, fewer than half of ocean freight contracts signed across 13 major trade lanes have been annual in duration, as shippers try new procurement strategies to wade through constrained vessel capacity.

The new fiscal year has gotten off to an uneven start for Indian exporters, who are contending with port omissions and schedule rerouting on major strings to Europe and the US.

Given recent challenges with connections via Colombo in Sri Lanka, carriers are turning to new transshipment options on India’s west and east coasts.

Hapag-Lloyd's move to equip its entire box fleet with sensors could herald a new era that unlocks new tools beyond mere visibility for carriers, even if tracking devices aren’t a cure-all for shipper supply chain woes.

On-time vessel reliability improved in March for vessels arriving at US ports from Asia, but a disparity in the gains showed how upcoming labor negotiations on the West Coast are affecting US ocean shipping dynamics.

The longer China’s COVID lockdowns persist and manufacturing is interrupted, the more pent-up demand will build and eventually be unleashed into the trans-Pacific.

Singapore-based ONE reported its third consecutive year of profitability during which flat volume was massively offset by rising rates and 100 percent utilization on major trade lanes.

The longer the Chinese lockdowns last the more intense the scramble by US importers to secure factory production and transport capacity, potentially mirroring the whiplash of order cancellations in early 2020 that were followed by unprecedented demand.

While sustained demand is a factor for the strength on the India–US trade, sources say carriers are playing a “cherry-picking” policy while signing contracts with shippers or forwarders, prioritizing the ones they see as more lucrative partners.

Hapag-Lloyd is betting customers will eventually demand that all its containers be trackable by sensors, leading it to commit to equipping its fleet of 3 million dry boxes starting next year.