Container Shipping News

Sea Lead Shipping joins other smaller, independent carriers stepping into the Asia-US East Coast trade lanes thanks to strong demand and high rates.

P&O Maritime Logistics is moving into the container market to provide additional capacity in lower-volume, higher-frequency routes.

The fast-evolving sanctions against Russia have created growing uncertainty in shipping circles, with thousands of inbound containers that can’t be delivered likely to further clog Europe’s already-congested terminals.

Upcoming labor contract negotiations between dockworkers and terminals on the US West Coast were on the minds of carrier executives at TPM22.

FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei told TPM22 that container alliances appear to be responding to market demand and not unfairly jacking up ocean freight rates.

More carriers are launching intra-Asia services to take advantage of surging freight rates in the region.

While the schedule integrity of ocean carriers in January improved slightly to the West Coast, performance declined slightly to the East Coast and hit an all-time low globally.

Ocean schedule reliability shows no signs of improving as two key services out of India plan to skip major ports in Europe and the US amid ongoing global congestion.

CMA CGM, the Port of Los Angeles, and US dairy exporters are touting the availability of more container capacity and improved schedule reliability.

Reduced trans-Pacific connectivity has become particularly acute for shippers in South Korea and Japan who have seen carriers omit calls or drop sailings as they seek to maintain or restore schedule reliability on mainline services.

Asian imports set a new record in January due to the pre-Lunar New Year rush when factories close for the holidays.

Industry sources in South India say average feeder fees to Colombo have doubled in recent weeks, with carriers blaming port slowdowns and rising fuel costs.

Two years after the pandemic reached US shores, logistics managers at US companies that import from Asia are in the toughest service contract negotiations of their careers, according to conversations with more than a dozen importers.

The Pilot Freight acquisition gives Maersk not just last-mile delivery capabilities, but the “middle-mile” backbone needed to speed freight to the final mile.

Alliance partners Mediterranean Shipping Co and Maersk line will end their slot-chartering arrangement with SM Line on their Asia-Pacific Northwest service as the 2M lines have sufficient cargo of their own to fill the slots.

THE Alliance will split a “pendulum” service that swings from Asia to Europe and the US West Coast, with Hapag-Lloyd saying it could respond to demand more easily by adding vessels to two new services rather than through one existing service.

Brazilian shippers continue to face challenges with virtually no reefer containers available for spot cargoes and driver shortages affecting onward shipments from US ports.

Maersk introduced a new vessel service from Asia that will call on the US Gulf and East Coast and plans to provide its first direct service from Indonesia to the US.

Paris-based visibility provider Shippeo is eyeing North America as it seeks to expand the competitive landscape of the fierce global predictive cargo visibility market.

A return to single-digit year-over-year growth in imports in the first half of the year will still not provide the relief necessary for US ports to clear their cargo and vessel backlogs, according to retailers.

The falling level of connectivity from Japan and South Korea to North America has led shippers to use short-sea services to China, where cargo is transshipped to mainline trans-Pacific services.

The Israeli carrier will expand the port rotation of its newly launched ZIM-Med-ISC service between India and the Mediterranean to connect to North Europe trades from next month. 

The Senate’s Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 calls for container lines and terminal operators to validate container storage fees while strengthening their common carriage responsibilities.

After a year of growing disruption, shippers are seeking a more predictable service on the trans-Atlantic, which can be seen in far higher contract rates than just a few months ago.

For southern India cargo interests traditionally tied to foreign transshipment, the weekly IEX service had been a hopeful bet on service reliability and transit time expectations.

The impact of investigations by the Federal Maritime Commission into container shipping — driven by new leadership and pressure from the White House — pales in comparison to fast-moving reform legislation making its way through Congress.

Several network changes unveiled by carriers include the 2M Alliance and Zim ending a slot swap agreement on two Asia-Mediterranean services and two Asia services into Vancouver and Seattle on April 1.

US East Coast ports will see an uptick in deployed vessel capacity to start 2022 thanks to additional all-water Asia services being added by ocean carriers.

Container lines have begun to lay out a new wave of hefty peak season surcharges on India-US trades as export demand remains elevated.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are considering an innovative but complex plan to reduce the number of empty containers that are contributing to terminal congestion by incentivizing shipping lines to increase the volume of containers they pick up during each call.

Inflation, higher interest rates, and a gradual shift back to a more “normal” balance in consumer spending between goods and services will reduce import volumes in the second half of 2022, in turn relieving pressure on ports and inland supply chains.

Container line members of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) are not adopting the very standards they have set out to develop, speakers said during a JOC webcast last week.

With Suez Canal transit tolls rising next month, Indian shippers — already dealing with elevated freight rates — are now seeing new canal-related surcharges on services to North Africa.

Matson’s fourth-quarter results surge amid growing demand for expedited ocean freight services from China to the US West Coast.

Despite an expected return to single-digit monthly increases in imports from Asia this year, already-stressed US ports are still likely to struggle to handle cargo volumes.

Price is taking a back seat to reliability and predictability in this year’s service contract negotiations as shippers push carriers for larger space commitments while carriers are favoring customers with a proven ability to deliver committed volumes on a consistent basis.

While carriers are permitted to collaborate on freight rates under South Korea’s maritime shipping act, it must be done in discussion with shippers and details reported to the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry within 30 days.

Members of the Ocean Alliance outline plans to add new Asia services to the US West and East coasts as part of a series of 2022 network changes.

Frustration over sailing disruptions continues in the new year for Indian exporters, with MSC skipping calls at Mundra and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on its INDUSA service this week.

Maersk is going beyond its previous efforts to cut emissions, accelerating its decarbonization timeline and extending net-zero targets across its land, sea, and air business.