International ports

Retailers and NVOs aren’t sure if spot rates will continue to increase steadily through the peak season or whether new capacity expected to enter the trans-Pacific in the coming months will cause rates to fall again.

Freight forwarder sources in India believe the success of a fourth round of general rate increases scheduled for Aug. 1 will hinge on the ability of carriers to hold firm on recent pricing gains.

A weak global economy and limited demand in Europe has set the continent’s largest port on course for a second year of declining volume.

The fall hid some upbeat trends, with the number of refrigerated containers rising more than 10% in the first half and the rate of decline in overall volumes easing in the second quarter.

The new trade pattern reflects in large part a sharp drop in empty equipment imports amid weakening demand conditions, rather than sustained export trade, industry observers say.

Deeper public-private sector collaboration between global maritime industry players and the MPA will unlock key investments across the Indian and Pacific oceans, Lloyd’s Register believes.

Ocean Network Express said container operations on three vessels were affected by the disruption, but that loading and unloading had now been completed.

The global port operator is bolstering its multimodal supply chain capabilities with an investment that increases its already significant presence in the region.

Despite the subdued market environment, the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges expect rising volumes to place significant demand on capacity and vessel traffic management, prompting investment in both areas.

After two attempts to push through GRIs largely failed, forwarder sources in India believe it will be difficult for carriers to achieve success under current tight booking conditions, but liners have nonetheless lined up further rate hikes.

A combination of softer volumes and increased vessel capacity continues to drag on spot rates between Latin America and the US, but forwarders say they expect demand to begin to recover in September.

Some inland logistics services have resumed, but vessel movements at the ports of Pipavav and Mundra remain suspended due to disruption stemming from Cyclone Biparjoy.

More supply chain disruptions are imminent for Indian containerized trade as Cyclone Biparjoy, a storm that is expected to make landfall Thursday, has now forced major ports on the western coastline to shut.

The Marseille-based carrier continues to grow its terminal portfolio in strategic areas as part of a broad move to control the end-to-end logistics of customer shipments.

The Container Port Performance Index for 2022 showed that among large ports, China’s Yangshan ranked No. 1, while Ningbo and Guangzhou were among the top 10.

An emerging trend of sending smaller shipments more frequently is leading to growing demand for LCL services across the major trade lanes.

Shippers and port executives say the post-COVID shift of cargo back to Hong Kong is being hampered by the global slump in demand as developed countries grapple with elevated inventories and inflationary pressures.

Thanks to a recent GRI push, average contract rates for India to the US have seen modest gains in recent weeks and carriers are now looking to build around that limited success.

The port congestion in Asia and North America that compromised vessel on-time performance during the pandemic began to ease last fall with declining cargo volumes, and the reliability improvements have accelerated since.

Price volatility, economic uncertainty and China’s ongoing efforts to keep adulterated scrap products out of the country held back US exports of recyclable materials for the third straight year in 2022.

Forwarders do not expect prices to stabilize or trend up any time soon, with carriers increasingly struggling to secure steady booking levels to fill their export allocations out of India despite capacity readjustments.

Challenging economic conditions, compounded by sanctions against one of its largest trading partners, led to a sharp drop in first-quarter volumes at Europe’s third-busiest container port.

Toy and game manufacturers front-loaded traditional holiday merchandise in 2022, resulting in an exceptional first half of the year followed by a weak fourth quarter that coincided with a broader decline in consumer spending.

Last year’s dip in electronics imports is a sign that US consumers were holding back on some discretionary purchases after two years of heightened spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Better vessel reliability helped fuel a return to growth in US agriculture exports in the second half of 2022, but those green shoots could be ripped up at the root if service doesn’t continue to improve.

Logistics and industrial investment in the Asia-Pacific region was estimated at about $50 billion last year, down from a record $72 billion in 2021.

Forwarders generally believe the limited GRI gains that have been achieved or are anticipated in the coming weeks on the India-US trades will be short-lived unless more capacity is withdrawn or a large increase in volumes occurs.

Weak import demand, Russian sanctions, and the loss of cargo to neighboring ports combined to drag down volume at Europe’s largest container port in the first quarter.

The poor economic conditions affecting Europe’s major economies and the ongoing war in Ukraine continue to drag down container volumes at the continent’s second-largest port.

Forwarders said the capacity increase is due to carriers no longer skipping or blanking calls at Japanese ports following the normalization of demand and the easing of port congestion in the US.

The first-quarter profit estimates came as Cosco Shipping announced plans for a general rate increase on all dry and reefer cargo to the US from Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East from May 15.

How successful ocean carriers are in securing general rate increases comes down to the health of so-called green shoots of demand and the effectiveness of increased blanking of capacity.

Forwarder sources in India say they view the latest GRI attempts as nothing more than contract negotiation posturing on the part of the carriers.

On top of erratic berth availability at JNPT, ocean carriers have received a cost escalation blow with India’s national port regulator approving significant tariff hikes at two key terminals.

APM said the new section of the terminal will operate with net-zero emissions and be fully automated and prepared for shore power installation.

Data from eBLs issued via GSBN’s infrastructure will also be used to electronically release SABIC cargo at Hutchison and PSA terminals in Asia.

Dutch multimodal operator Samskip will offer carbon-neutral ocean transport to shippers using biofuel in its intra-European operations.

For ocean carriers, the decision to cancel sailings suggests they expect no rebound in trans-Pacific freight rates that are now at two-year lows.

APM Terminals said the new facility would specifically target North American and European export and import markets.

Local freight forwarder sources in India say they view GRIs more as a tool to slow the erosion in rates rather than effectively trying to increase prices.