container shipping

The high-stakes wild cards to watch in what promises to be a volatile year.

MSI expects bunker surcharges to also be a factor in container rates.

Trans-Pacific container rates continue to fall as Asia-Europe rates continue to rise.

Concerns rise that shipping can’t recoup cost of IMO 2020-compliant fuel.

A falling trade-to-GDP ratio is a worrying trend for the shipping industry.

As carbon tax on ocean shipping appears more likely, industry lays groundwork for future collection.

New independent research reveals that lines are failing to adequately explain how IMO 2020 fuel bill surcharges are calculated.

U.S.-China deal should boost shipping stock sentiment, assuming investors believe it’ll stick.

CAI International, one of the world’s largest container lessors, is reviewing strategic alternatives with the help of Centerview Partners.

A trio accused of massive drug smuggling allegedly illegally directed customs-controlled shipments away from logistics operators to “unknown” locations.

Production of most Christmas lights has moved Cambodia and other Asian countries from China.

When demand falls, prices fall too — or they should. Yet on the southbound Asia-Oceania trade lane rates are up but volumes are down.

Index data appears to show that IMO 2020 fuel costs are being passed along to box shippers.

Container industry veteran John McCown argues that the shift toward East Coast ports is inexorable.

Carriers are “jacking up” spot rates to improve their negotiating hands with shippers as they agree pricing for IMO 2020 fuel bills and long-term Asia-Europe contracts.

After all the trade turmoil, many legacy supply chains may still be in “wait-and-see” mode.

Trade tensions look like they’ll get worse before they get better, a negative for ocean shipping demand.

Darren Prokop writes about the benefits of economies of scale in maritime shipping; he also writes about the dangers of diseconomies of scale.

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 […]

West Coast freight volumes have been robust in 2019, but empty rail containers signal that the balance is shifting east heading into 2020.

The shift of production from China to southeast Asia is unlikely to stop the trans-Pacific container market from declining this year.

A look at today’s containerized ocean transport of alcohol via bottle, can, keg, flexitank and ISO tank container — and how this mix could change going forward.

CMA CGM reported solid results for the third quarter of 2019. However, those results were weighed down by the costs of financing its purchase of CEVA Logistics.

Freight data confirms that container lines are increasing their flows to the U.S. East Coast at the expense of California ports.

Data reveals how container pricing may have suffered collateral damage from the trade war.

Shippers believe container line consortia are anti-competitive and lack transparency.

Cargo rate platform adds “deep link” to Maersk’s booking portal.

Box-port operator Asian Terminals has seen a massive surge in nine-month revenues and profits but it has also witnessed a downturn in the third quarter of 2019.

Japanese mafia are in the firing line after a record 400 kilos of cocaine are found in a container in Japan.

With Soren Toft, Maersk COO just a week ago, poised to become MSC’s new CEO, FreightWaves examines which carrier rules the waves.

Europol believe Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia is behind the use of Gioia Tauro as a cocaine hub for western Europe.

HMM had an increase in revenue and smaller loss in third quarter when compared to the same 2018 period.

The shipping grapevine is abuzz with rumors that the man who was Maersk’s COO until Monday (Nov. 11) could soon be leading MSC.

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. (TWSE:2609) said it had lower revenue and a larger loss in the third quarter of 2019 than in the same period last year. But the […]

Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and COSCO will be the main market share “losers”, says Alphaliner.

It’s a largely good set of third-quarter results for the Philippines-based but globally operating container terminal operator ICTSI. “Strong financial performance,” says President and Chairman Enrique K. Razon. On a nine-month basis, the growth surge is pronounced.

Advent Intermodal is seeking to increase transparency along the Panama “land bridge” between the coasts.

China-to-California box rates are up 16% from October lows, but are still down 43% year-on-year.

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!

Global Ship Lease says it focuses on trade lanes responsible for 70% of global container trade and not the big East-West trades.

Asia-Europe and Asia-U.S. spot freight rates jumped 12-30% last week, but can carriers hold on to the gains?

Danaos expects in 2020 container trade demand growth will outpace supply growth for the first time in almost 10 years.

It’s an income statement of two halves for COSCO Shipping Development, which both leases container ships while also making and leasing ocean shipping boxes. Revenues fell off a cliff. But COSCO Shipping Development was able to protect its bottom line by slashing costs. Profits surged.

Container leasing company Textainer said a traditional peak season did not materialize in 2019.

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) recorded a major drop in revenues in the first half of its financial year as container earnings fell off a cliff and the U.S.-China trade war took its toll. But MOL was able to limit damage to operating profits.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed ocean container carrier SITC (HKEX: 01308) has reported increases in its unaudited third-quarter results despite a global trade slowdown and the China-U.S. trade war. SITC’s container revenues and volumes have both increased.

CEVA Logistics, the third-party logistics subsidiary purchased by the French shipping giant in April, will cross-sell and share warehousing with Wing.

With spot container freight rates continuing to tumble, carriers are forecast to withdraw more capacity ahead of annual contract negotiations with shippers.

South Korea-based ocean box shipping line Hyundai Merchant Marine (KRX: 011200) has revealed plans to issue a 660 billion Korean won (US$562.4 million) convertible bond. It’s a bold move for a company that’s already carrying KrW4.1 trillion (US$3.49 billion) of debt. One analyst has described the company as having a “horrible balance sheet”.

The autumn peak season will be over before you know it. Trans-Pacific container rates have yet to budge.

Could new tariffs derail solid rate performance in the trans-Atlantic trade?

Market Voice Darren Prokop writes about automation at ports and the progress – and disruption – that will bring.

Both canal stats and container transport pricing confirm continued momentum for U.S. East Coast ports.

Drewry expects service levels to be cut by lines if shippers prove unwilling to foot the bill for mandatory low-sulfur fuels.

The introduction of new low-sulfur fuels, bearish demand and increased blanked sailings will bring more volatility to box markets in the coming months, says MSI.

Crude tanker rates continue to surge, driven by geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, container rates remain weak.

New regulations are expected to affect around 60,000 ships, requiring them to reduce their sulfur emissions by more than 80%.

Trade lanes will come to a halt if the U.K. exits the EU on October. 31, believes the Secretary-General of the European Shippers Council.

The number of containers is a better bellwether of global trade than the number of container ships.

BIMCO says there are “several indications” that goods are being shipped from the Far East to Europe and then transshipped to the U.S. East Coast to avoid tariffs.

This week, VLCC tanker rates are rising, whereas both trans-Pacific box rates and Capesize bulker rates are slipping.

A breakdown of some of the most active ships in the global maritime industry.

The drone attacks in Saudi Arabia are reverberating across the ocean shipping business. Part I: the impacts on non-tanker shipping segments.

Data confirms that U.S. importers are increasingly opting to bring Asian cargoes into East Coast ports.

Dry bulk spot rates have pulled back from recent highs, while trans-Pacific container rates have held their gains.

CMA CGM expects an even better second half to the year following its acquisition of CEVA Logistics.

While management teams at some of the nation’s largest TL carriers have been talking up the potential for a solid peak shipping season, Universal Logistics has seen peak season sentiment move the opposite direction.

The beleaguered dry bulk shipping sector is nearing its post-financial-crisis peak. Is it sustainable?

The price of new IMO 2020-compliant low-sulfur fuels is already 30% higher than fuels currently in use, but costs will rise further as the Jan. 1 deadline approaches, says consultant

A direct hit on both Freeport and Miami would compound fallout for ocean shipping.

VLCC rates are up over 200% month-on-month. Trans-Pacific box shipping rates are down 11% since the beginning of August.

The next global recession would have a different impact on ocean shipping markets than the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Canada’s largest port saw increases in tonnage and containers during the first half of 2019, but individual cargo types painted a more complicated picture.

Earlier today in Europe, Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller–Maersk (NASDAQ: Maersk A; NASDAQ: Maersk B) reported a massive increase in second quarter profit and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Revenues “grew slightly,” the shipping mega-conglomerate said.

Asia-U.S. container rates are still not showing peak-season strength, but optimism remains.

Evergreen Marine reports a second quarter profit and says it will add 23,000 TEU ultra-large containerships to its fleet.

Hapag-Lloyd says it outlook for the second half of 2019 is unchanged even if it has to deal with more trade restrictions.

Ocean Network Express (ONE) expects slightly better profit this year than previously forecast as costs drop one year into its full operation.  But overall demand remains tepid as it lowered […]

The Netherlands-headquartered shipping line Universal Africa Lines (UAL) recently added Port Houston’s City Docks to its liner service that connects the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico with West Africa. UAL, […]

The quarterly results of Costamare reveal continued rise in container-ship charter rates.

This week, VLCC rates are going sideways, Capesize rates have reversed, and container shipping has yet to gain traction.

It’s hard to blame the skeptics, given what has happened in the past, but dry bulk freight rates are getting pretty impressive.

Sudden surge in marine fuel costs could spur shippers to consider switch to California over Panama Canal route.

A suspension “until further notice” of the latest round of draft restrictions on ships using the Panama Canal was issued yesterday by the Canal Authority. Dry conditions are likely to continue throughout July and may last to the end of the year.

The Caribbean is container shipping’s all-important crossroads of the Americas.

It has now been a half-decade since the emergence of large-scale container liner alliances. What’s their track record?

The U.S. fireworks supply comes primarily from China, and one company controls most of that trade. Read Market Expert Henry Byers’ fascinating article about fireworks!

Some believe the pace of regulatory and technological change is causing owners to pull back from newbuilding contracts.

Dry bulk shipping could be a winner following the ceasefire in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

Research by Clarksons confirms acceleration of scrubber installations, reducing available ship capacity.

Container ports at risk of earthquake aftershocks

East Coast refinery outage spurs more trans-Atlantic gasoline cargoes from Europe.

Geopolitical and trade tensions are having an increasing effect on shipping rates.