Stay Up to Date on the Cargo Shipping Industry
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on shipping industry growth in 2020. With the world in lockdown, demand for non-essential consumer goods (and the means to ship them) decreased. Shipment of manufactured goods also decreased as factories closed in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. On top of that, China — one of the world’s largest exporters — was at the center of the pandemic, leading several countries to stop trade with the nation altogether.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), maritime shipping industry growth will likely slow or remain flat in 2023, driven by inflation and the ongoing war in Ukraine. For the overall 2023–2027 period, UNCTAD predicts growth at an annual average rate of 2.1%, slower than the previous 30-year average of 3.3%.
Check back here for the latest container shipping news, updates and trends. Looking for additional information and insights? Check out our Maritime Industry News archives.
A Greek-owned freighter capsized and sank after being hit by a bulk carrier in Senegal’s port of Dakar.
Salvors began towing the Greek-flagged tanker Sounion, still burning from attacks by Houthi militia in late August. The vessel became a symbol of civilian shipping targets that have led container and other vessel operators to detour around the region.
Solidarity between the ILA and ILWU was on display the last time the ILA narrowly avoided a strike (and the ILWU did not).
The ILA maintains that it will not accept any extension of their current contract nor any potential mediation by the federal government.
Ports in Houston and New Orleans recorded slight drops in container movements in July, while shipments of crude oil bolstered freight flows at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Panama Canal Authority said the severe drought that affected operations over the past 12 months has shown officials they need to be more customer-oriented.
The Zim Kingston ship fire in 2021 shows Canada isn’t adequately prepared for marine emergencies, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
NullShip Shipping Solutions claims to sell U.S. Postal Service and UPS labels at a steep discount but sold clients counterfeit postal labels, costing one person thousands of dollars in lost goods.
Amazon Prime Day 2024 will run July 16 through July 17, with discounts on millions of items across 35 categories for Amazon Prime subscribers.
The e-commerce landscape in the United States is continuously evolving, requiring retailers remain flexible and adaptable to maintain a competitive edge. Recent data from Statista projects that e-commerce revenue will […]
As the bar code turns 50, many large companies are working with GS1 US to create a more effective product code process, which may result in switching from bar codes to QR codes.
A federal lawsuit filed in 2022 over the capsized Golden Ray cargo ship, which sank off the coast of Georgia with nearly 4,200 vehicles on board, has been settled.
MythosAI is a startup that is looking to fix one “Stone Age” aspect of shipping, according to the company’s founder.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were awarded a total of $112 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fund maintenance and repair projects.
The transportation industry is a major contributor to climate change. Turmoil in maritime shipping is forcing route diversions that are spiking emissions, reflected in data from Xeneta.
The end of Panama’s dry season is in sight, and the Panama Canal Authority plans to welcome more vessels in the coming weeks.
Ship recycling has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years, per a recent report by the Baltic and International Maritime Council.
If China and Russia find the Houthi problem in the Red Sea as intractable as the U.S. and its allies have, it would all but halt what little maritime traffic remains in the region.
An unusually warm and dry winter might herald drought conditions in key areas of the Mississippi River Basin over the coming months.
Dockworkers are fully prepared to swap pallet jacks for picket signs come October.
DeliverDirect serves various industries, including retail, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and related sectors.
A recent string of Houthi attacks have reignited concerns about the Red Sea crisis, raising the floor for tanker rates.
The crisis in the Red Sea will require companies to start planning for peak season in the next few months.
A rise in Chinese imports indicates seasonal trends are playing out as usual, very much unlike 2023’s anemic performance.
A recent round of U.S. and British strikes raise fresh questions about the impact of container shipping in the Red Sea.
Houthi attacks and Red Sea diversions will not spur inflation or a new supply chain crisis, claims consultancy Drewry.
The Russia-Ukraine war led to enduring changes in shipping routes. War in the Middle East looks likely to do the same.
Spot rates remain very high, but appear to have plateaued. The question ahead: Will they fall back after Chinese New Year?
As many are predicting another shift in the second half of the year, the co-founder of Sifted has advice for both carriers and shippers moving into 2024.
The initial effect of Houthi attacks was on containerized consumer goods. The attacks are now snarling seaborne fuel flows.
Amid the focus on wars in Europe and the Middle East, North Korea’s threat to key exporting and shipbuilding nations grows.
Monthly canal transits are now much lower than they were in 2015, the year before the Neopanamax locks went into operation.
Container lines faced overcapacity and huge losses in 2024. Then the Houthis flipped the market in favor of container lines.
Container-ship diversions from the Red Sea will likely last for months. Are large-scale tanker diversions imminent?
Houthi attacks have been a plus for shipping rates. The latest to benefit: Owners of container vessels that can be rented to shipping lines.
The upsurge in rates due to ship diversions did not come soon enough to rescue container lines’ fourth-quarter results.
Red Sea escalation would juice tanker rates, but rates would fall if the conflict spilled into the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. imports kept chugging along, despite all the talk of supply chain problems due to Red Sea attacks and Panama’s drought.
The combination of Red Sea detours and Panama Canal restrictions is having a knock-on effect: higher Asia-West Coast rates.
Imports to Europe and the U.S. East Coast face heavy delays as Operation Prosperity Guardian fails to bring shipping back to the Red Sea.
Tanker stocks rose as expected in 2023, container shipping shares surprised to the upside, and dry bulk stocks lagged the pack.
Shipping stocks are under pressure as some ocean carriers show faith in military protection from Red Sea attacks.
Ocean shipping kept the world’s cargo flowing amid two wars and disruptions at both the Panama and Suez canals.
The key question for container shipping rates: How soon can Operation Prosperity Guardian woo traffic back to the Red Sea?
Container ships have forsaken the Red Sea route but many bulk commodity vessels continue to transit the danger zone.
A growing number of ship operators are refusing to transit the Red Sea and taking a very long detour around Africa instead.
Container-ship route diversions — first to avoid the Panama Canal, now to avoid Red Sea chaos — could help offset rate pressure from newbuilding deliveries.
Panama’s drought initially affected transits through the smaller locks. The pain has now spread to the larger Neopanamax locks.
As war rages in Europe and the Middle East, a new flashpoint in South America could pose more complications for shipping.
Next year, U.S. importers must navigate canal restrictions, diversions from the Red Sea, more canceled sailings and, possibly, a port strike.
Imports have held up surprisingly well this year, but peak season’s end and canal restrictions are finally curbing volumes.
U.S. crude exports have never been higher. Overseas buyers are incentivizing American producers to pump more “black gold.”
Commodity shipping has a well-deserved reputation for extreme volatility. The rise and expected fall in dry bulk is a case in point.
U.S. diesel exports to South America’s west coast are heavily exposed to Panama Canal delays. Tanker rates have skyrocketed.
As the Panama Canal scales back on reservation slots, more ships without reservations wait longer to get through.
MSC, the world’s largest shipping line, faces the largest-ever shipper claim for alleged damages suffered during the supply chain crisis.
There has been a surge of attacks and threats targeting Israel-linked ships, including one incident where the U.S. Navy came to the rescue.
Time is running out for container lines as contract rate renewal season nears and spot rates fail to recover.
Panama Canal restrictions force more ships to transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen, where they face a hijacking risk.
Terminal operator ICTSI has not given up its quest for tens of millions in damages from the West Coast longshore union.
The era of rapid Chinese growth and large-scale government intervention is over, says China Beige Book CEO Leland Miller.
Zim’s headline loss looks ugly, but most of the decline was non-cash and it still has ample reserves to weather the downcycle.
A fleet of container vessels is up for sale as a company backed by Greece’s Evangelos Marinakis switches its bets to LNG shipping.
U.S. agribulk exports to Asia are taking the longer route via the Suez Canal due to Panama transit restrictions.
Cargo volumes are holding up, but rising transport capacity is outpacing demand, pushing container shipping rates even lower.
Containerized imports have rebounded strongly in 2023, with October volumes up 33% from February’s low.
The union representing East and Gulf Coast dockworkers warned members to prepare for a possible strike starting Oct. 1, 2024.
“This is not a diet. This is a resetting of the baseline,” said Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc on his company’s job cuts.
The water crisis at the Panama Canal is getting worse and will force more ships to take much longer routes.
Profits being reported by container shipping lines are down from the stratosphere but many still surpass pre-COVID returns.
Now that port labor unrest is over, West Coast container terminals are starting to claw back some of their lost volumes.
Cosco earned more than $800 million in the third quarter, while one analyst expects Zim to lose more than $200 million.
A leading exec in liquefied gas shipping gives his take on war in the Middle East, market fundamentals and shipping stocks.
The volume of Russian crude exports is growing and the price is rising, spurring the U.S. and its partners to begin sanctions enforcement.
Geopolitics has always been a key driver of global shipping markets. How could the war in Israel affect rates?
Peak season demand propelled imports higher in September, although softening spot rates point to a fourth-quarter slowdown.
Tanker giant Frontline is poised to dramatically expand its fleet, while Euronav is on a path to privatization.
Investors have been burned for years by dilutive share offerings by micro-cap shipowners. Backlash is building.
The Chapter 11 filing of the ILWU dockworkers union dates back to a dispute over two electrician jobs in Oregon a decade ago.
Just when it looked like West Coast port labor drama had dissipated, the ILWU has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The U.S. government at the start of World War I looked to concrete vessel hulls to counter severe steel shortages when the country entered the war.
A flood of tanks, military vehicles and weapons systems is flowing from the U.S. to Europe. Shipowner ARC plays a pivotal transport role.
Inflation and economic fallout from the war are curbing demand just as a tidal wave of new ship supply hits the water.
Diesel is an essential fuel for the global economy. The world’s second-largest seaborne supplier, Russia, just halted exports.
The recent rate rebound turned out to be fleeting. As rates deteriorate yet again, shipping lines face mounting losses.
The supply chain crisis is over, but exporters are still paying more — and facing more logistical challenges — than they did before the pandemic.
Shipowner Grimaldi says a Jeep Wrangler used to push non-operating automobiles onto the vessel sparked the deadly fire.
The plot thickens in the legal battle between Bed Bath & Beyond and container lines. More carriers are in the crosshairs.
The Panama Canal Authority on Tuesday suspended bookings for super vessels through Sept. 30 in its latest measure to remove a backlog waiting to traverse the canal.
Now that supply chains are back to normal, the typical effects of seasonality have returned, bringing U.S. imports up.
Fuel costs were overshadowed by skyrocketing freight rates amid the supply chain crisis. Now, fuel costs are much more important.
This was supposed to be a banner year for crude tankers, but output cuts and the Russian price cap are keeping rates under pressure.
Have shipping stocks been a good bet? Here’s a look at their performance year to date and versus pre-COVID.
Today’s refrigeration systems in transportation are extremely sophisticated, rooted in a history that reaches back nearly 150 years.
Persistent congestion and higher delays at the Panama Canal could lead to lasting changes in global LPG shipping flows.
Asia-U.S. spot shipping rates have pulled back after a strong run-up, implying peak season may have passed its peak.
Average CEO compensation rose as ocean shipping company earnings increased, fueled in many cases by share-based compensation.
Panama’s drought poses a serious challenge to the country’s canal operations, but fallout to global trade remains limited.
Unprecedented supply-demand imbalances amid the pandemic led to historic dividend payouts by container shipping lines.
The global coal trade is thriving, with dry bulk ships busy carrying the loads. As the West consumes less coal, Asia buys even more.
