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Container Shipping

Stay Up to Date on the Container Shipping Industry

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.

FreightWaves Staff Monday, December 2, 2019

Drugs War: Europe under siege as crime syndicates piggyback supply chains (With Video)

Maritime, air and overland trade routes into Europe are being piggybacked by criminal gangs deploying the latest digital supply chain technologies to help meet mushrooming demand for illegal drugs across the European Union (EU), according to a major new report examining the continent’s illicit drugs business. The 2019 EU Drug Markets Report by the EU […]

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Chris Dupin Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Container service returning to Portland, Oregon

Farmers and other shippers in Oregon got some good news this week when the South Korea-based container carrier SM Line announced it will bring weekly container shipping service back to Portland early next year. The service “will create more jobs for Oregonians and more opportunities for local companies to grow as they market Oregon products […]

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FreightWaves Staff Thursday, November 7, 2019

Sinotrans delivers scary Halloween third quarter results… or does it?

All may not necessarily be as it may first seem in the world of company earnings. Dry bulk, ocean container shipping and logistics company Sinotrans (HKEX: 598) may not have delivered a Halloween shocker even though its third quarter results were splattered in red ink all over its income statement. One long-short equities analyst was very bullish on the company’s stock despite the seemingly-poor results!

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Chris Dupin Tuesday, October 29, 2019

CAI International reports container lease revenue increase

CAI International Inc. (NYSE: CAI), a leading container-leasing and logistics company, said it had modest year-over-year growth in revenue from continuing operations in the third quarter but that it had a net loss because of its decision to seek a buyer for its railcar fleet. The company reported total revenue of $107.6 million in the […]

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FreightWaves Staff Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Samudera Shipping slips into the red

Fewer cargoes, lower freight rates, higher fuel costs and the consequences of operating a smaller fleet during a time of a slowdown in world trade has led intra-Asia specialist, Samudera Shipping (SGX: S56 / SAMU.SI), to report a net loss for the third quarter of the year.

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FreightWaves Staff Friday, October 18, 2019

Down Under Trucking: Wisetech denies J Capital claims of financial trickery

The last couple of days took a dramatic turn with U.S. short seller J Capital making explosive allegations that global logistics software behemoth, WiseTech – a A$9 billion (US$6.2 billion) company, has been seriously misleading investors. WiseTech has robustly denied these claims. In other news: CTI Logistics annual results; truck rest stops “desperately needed”.

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