HMM Nuri slated to transit Suez Canal on maiden voyage
The South Korean container carrier expects the Suez Canal backlog to be cleared by the time the HMM Nuri arrives in mid-April.
The global shipping industry is constantly evolving, and the COVID-19 pandemic began a marked shift in how container shipping operates. Disruption caused by the pandemic has forced the industry to expand its capacity and reduce costs to remain profitable.
At the peak of the pandemic, containers essentially stopped moving. As manufacturers went into lockdown and closed factories, many of the containers used to ship those manufactured goods were left stranded at ports or storage depots, where they weren’t needed. Simultaneously, freight shippers were reducing the number of vessels in use due to the manufacturing slowdown. This limited global shipping capacity and disrupted the worldwide flow of containers and goods. As a result, some regions were left with an excess of stored containers, while other places were left with no containers at all.
As the pandemic slowed and the global economy began to rebound, labor shortages and congestion at ports have left many of these stored containers stuck where they aren’t needed. Now, instead of a shortage of shipping containers, the industry is dealing with too many. Many container storage depots are turning away new clients due to lack of space, and some shippers are even giving containers away to make room. Blank and cancelled sailings are increasing as well, as shippers decide to skip a port or cancel a trip altogether in order to manage changes in demand and capacity.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on the state of the container shipping industry. You can also visit our maritime news archive to learn more about cargo shipping, or our American Shipper archive for air cargo shipping industry news.
The South Korean container carrier expects the Suez Canal backlog to be cleared by the time the HMM Nuri arrives in mid-April.
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Digging and pulling haven’t freed the giant Ever Given vessel that has stopped traffic in the Suez Canal. The next step might be to lighten the vessel by removing cargo.
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Vessels are backed up on both ends of the Suez Canal as tugs work to free the ultra large container ship Ever Given.
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Container, dry bulk and tanker stocks push forward. Biggest winner since mid-2020: Danaos, up (this is not a typo) 1,202%.
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The lack of Lunar New Year shutdowns contributes to the busiest February on record.
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The Port of Virginia has recaptured some U.S. military business it lost over the years.
How does California congestion rank versus 2015 logjam caused by tensions with dockworkers union? It’s not even close: 2021 wins by a long shot.
“As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the time to accelerate our throughput and growth,” says Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
Wells Fargo transportation research analyst Allison Poliniak-Cusic raises expectations for intermodal providers in a new report. Favorable catalysts for the mode are expected to carry into 2022.
“Ocean Insights has dominated the container-tracking space, and we look forward to providing the industry not only the best ocean capabilities but also the most comprehensive end-to-end visibility platform,” says project44 CEO Jett McCandless.
Drayage trucking and logistics company ContainerPort sold its container yard and depot division to ITS ConGlobal, a company with intermodal, finished vehicle and depot service terminals.
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Jefferies senior analyst Randy Giveans outlines why it is now a particularly good time to buy container-shipping stocks.
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Ocean Audit’s Steve Ferreira and AutoZone’s Jack Conaghan discuss how beneficial cargo owners should strategize contracts and containers during 2021.
Evan Efstathiou discusses why VCs are looking to invest more in maritime just as shipowners are looking to partner more with startups.
Ocean Audit CEO Steve Ferreira chats with Vanguard Logistics Services Vice President Stephanie Loomis about what importers and beneficial cargo owners can expect as they undergo contract negotiations with the ocean carriers this year.
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Gordon Downes, CEO of New York Shipping Exchange, joins Ocean Audit’s head Steve Ferreira to chat about structural changes in container shipping and the place two-way committed contracts have in the industry.
BIMCO’s Peter Sand discusses whether container shipping’s ‘new normal’ has legs and what’s next for the sector.
Amazon may get the headlines for promising fast deliveries, but if it can’t get the product from overseas, the efficiency of trucks and delivery vans won’t make a difference.
The ocean carrier has not said when customers can expect to receive damaged or intact cargo.
“Importers are exhausted” and foundation change is necessary, says Flexport’s Sanne Manders.
Globalization isn’t just driven by comparative advantage. It is skewed by subsidies and mispricing of risk, according to author Marc Levinson.
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AgTC’s Peter Friedmann said Hapag-Lloyd’s Rolf Habben Jansen failed to mention in a press conference that the container shipping lines are enjoying record profits “while pushing their customers into real financial trouble, some towards bankruptcy.”
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AgTC’s Peter Freidmann highlights the hurdles U.S. food exporters confront as they vie for containers to transport their goods.
“There’s tremendous opportunity for Florida-bound cargo,” says JAXPORT CEO Eric Green during his State of the Port address Tuesday.
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Jon Gold, the vice president of supply chain and customer policy with the National Retail Federation, sits down for a fireside chat withWeston LaBarof the Harbor Trucking Association to discuss the backup in the port of Long Beach/Los Angeles.
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Kritikos launched Ceres Terminals in 1958 and sold the company to NYK in 2002.
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Here’s a helicopter view courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard of container-ship armada off Los Angeles and Long Beach (WITH VIDEO).
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The Port of Long Beach may need to start filling out its record book in pencil as new numbers keep replacing those on top.
“ZEBOX will assist innovative startups in developing new technologies in transportation, logistics, mobilities and industry 4.0,” says CMA CGM CEO Rodolphe Saadé.
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Asia-U.S. liner sailings are now being canceled because too many container ships are stuck at anchor off California.
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FreightWaves identifies importers who use the Asia-West Coast service.
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