Despite a collapse in freight rates, container shipping is not behaving like an industry facing an imminent crisis.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
Surging costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be a taste of things to come as shipping transitions to more expensive “green” fuels.
A fifth of U.S. containerized imports come from Europe. Shipping on this route remains much more expensive than it used to be.
Ports in Houston and New Orleans reported strong cargo container flows during February, boosted by exports of plastics and chemicals.
Flexport projects trans-Pacific contract rates will decline around 70% from 2022 levels but still be around 30% above current spot rates.
U.S. importers have forsaken their traditional gateway in Southern California. Many may be gone for good.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
Quarterly net losses could be around the corner for container lines, but EBITDA will stay high even if carriers dip into the red.
Shipping line Zim could face net losses in the quarters ahead, yet it has a hefty cash cushion to soften the blow.
Port of Virginia eyes completion of channel deepening this year
U.S. businesses overshot in 2022, importing way more than they needed. The hangover is in full swing, depressing 2023 imports.
Supply chain issues are in the rearview mirror for Fed inflation policy, but for importers, there’s still room for improvement.
Container lines are unable to prop up rates because they haven’t culled enough capacity to compensate for weak demand.
Shipping lines like Hapag-Lloyd have suffered sharp rate falls from the peak, but they’re nowhere near financial distress.
Kuehne + Nagel had a highly profitable year in 2022 despite macroeconomic headwinds, but results fell considerably in the fourth quarter along with transport demand.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
Charter rates are far below the peak but higher than pre-COVID as liners continue to sign new container-ship leases.
After a year of sanctions and “self sanctions,” shipping cargoes caught in the crossfire continue to find their way to buyers.
Cargo flow remained constant at ports in Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, but slowed slightly in New Orleans.
Los Angeles continues to face a double whammy of sinking demand and fears over the port labor contract that expired in July.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
Ocean carrier revenues fell sharply in the fourth quarter versus the third and continued sinking in January.
After a bounce in January, containerized imports could drop this month to the lowest level since May 2020.
Ocean carrier Maersk sees a rough second half of the year, when remaining support from contract rates “will disappear.”
The reversion in spot rates is pulling down contract rates, with a significantly delayed effect on ocean carrier earnings.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
The 2M partnership between MSC and Maersk — which is breaking up — is the smallest of the three alliances. The Ocean Alliance is much larger.
Container shipping rates from Europe to the U.S. are finally falling, but they’re still exceptionally high.
Your latest info on all things in the cold chain world
Speculation is swirling on how the end of a global container shipping alliance will affect ocean carriers and cargo shippers.
Shipping services around the globe will be reconfigured after the top two carriers end their vessel-sharing agreement.
How big are the world’s largest ocean container ships?
“We are proud to be part of this first-in-history interoperability launch between eBOL platforms,” said CargoX founder and CEO Stefan Kukman.
Steel, crude oil and refrigerated shipments rose as ports in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama recorded increased freight volumes in 2022.
Are falling commodity shipping spot rates the result of normal seasonality or a symptom of global economic malaise?
American imports remain a tale of two coasts, with continued strength in container volumes headed to Atlantic ports.
“Terminal49’s automation has saved us thousands of dollars a year, but more importantly it’s helped improve customer trust,” said Trade XCelerators’ Spencer Strader.
RoadOne IntermodaLogistics has acquired The Transporter Inc., an intermodal service provider with facilities in Houston, Dallas and Laredo, Texas.
The biggest container ships sailing on the oceans can carry more than 24,000 TEUs and are as tall as the Empire State Building.
Imports continue to decline and are close to where they were before COVID-19, but the coastal mix is very different.
Remaining queues of waiting ships are dwindling, another sign that supply chain pressure is winding down.
The top 10 liner operators hiked aggregate capacity by 13% in 2000-22 and continue to control 85% of the global fleet.
Just as the pandemic wound down, another market-altering event for shipping — the Ukraine-Russia war — ramped up.
Container shipping lines are gradually getting their services back on schedule, but they still have a long way to go.
Trans-Pacific spot rates fell first. Trans-Atlantic spot rates and Asia-U.S. contract rates look like they’re next in line.
2000: World container port throughput increased 7.8% last year to about 201 million TEUs — the first time volume exceeded 200 million TEUs.
Backers of a shipping regulation that begins Jan. 1 believe it will reduce carbon emissions. Critics warn it could backfire and increase them.
The U.S. could seek forfeiture of the MSC Gayane, a large ship involved in an infamous smuggling operation, says Bloomberg Businessweek.
Containerized imports to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have now fallen well below pre-COVID levels.
November saw another double-digit drop in America’s containerized imports, driven by sinking volumes from Asia.
Shipping giant Maersk changes leadership as it transitions from a period of massive profits to one of challenging market conditions.
Faster easing of China’s COVID restrictions could provide eventual support for container and dry bulk markets and a more immediate boost for tankers.
GCT will sell its terminal operations in Staten Island, New York, and Bayonne, New Jersey, to shipping giant CMA CGM.
Declining ship fuel prices equate to savings for containerized cargo shippers and lower costs for tanker and bulker owners.
Spot shipping rates continue their historic slide, putting even more pressure on container lines’ contract business.
Hopes that China will relax its zero-COVID policy are fading, raising concerns about shipping volume fallout.
Gulf Coast ports got a boost in October from imports of steel, plywood and bagged goods, as well as exports of crude oil.
Southern California’s container-ship logjam ends as congestion eases at East and Gulf Coast ports.
Ocean carriers have been shielded by lucrative annual contracts with cargo shippers, but contract coverage is starting to crumble.
Earnings for Zim, the world’s 10th largest ocean carrier, peaked in the first quarter and continue to slide as rates fall.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
The head of Los Angeles’ port is on a worldwide sales blitz, trying to convince shippers and carriers to come back.
Drop in imports from China in recent months comes on the heels of years of gains by exporters in the rest of Asia.
Container shipping fundamentals are not as bad as spot rates imply, says the head of the world’s fifth-largest ocean carrier.
Cargo misdeclaration may save a shipper money on freight rates, but this underhanded act threatens the lives of those who provide the transportation.
Imports remain 7% higher than pre-pandemic levels, with volumes steadying last month after September’s plunge.
Maersk’s guidance implies fourth-quarter earnings will plunge 39% compared to the third-quarter peak.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
Spot rate indexes look like they’re stabilizing — at least temporarily — after double-digit plunges in August and September.
Kuehne+Nagel is the largest logistics company in the world. It sees opportunities to capture more business as shipping demand falls.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd, gives his take on the “bullwhip effect,” rates and global trade.
Shipping lines face a minefield of surging capacity and sinking demand, but there is a path to safety, claims one industry expert.
Southern California ports are being hit by double-digit import drops as the COVID-19 cargo boom winds down.
As container shipping stocks get battered by collapsing rates, tanker shares could be poised for a long bull run.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
This week: J.B. Hunt launches a scholarship program for employee dependents and grandchildren, Maersk’s rainbow container is enjoyed by employees in Cape Town, South Africa, and Schneider receives its 14th Ride of Pride truck.
Declining imports have led to fewer container ships waiting off ports, injecting more capacity into the market, a negative for spot rates.
New disclosures by Asian ocean carriers confirm that container shipping lines remain extraordinarily profitable.
Demand for Asian goods began dropping earlier this year. This is now having a delayed — and highly negative — effect on U.S. imports.
Ocean carriers will be subject to stricter requirements when they charge shippers fees on late containers if a proposed rule is adopted.
Shipping adheres to a time-honored tradition: When shipowners make exceptionally high profits, they order a lot of new vessels. When those newbuilds are delivered by the yards, it kills shipowners’ […]
As Southern California is the heartbeat of outbound truckload volume, the significant decrease in freight coming out of the region reflects in national freight volumes; maritime booking volume from all ports in SONAR Container Atlas are down 20% from this time last year.
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
Supply-demand dynamics that supercharged pandemic-era rates are now “exactly the opposite,” says Maersk CEO Soren Skou.
Inbound container volumes into the U.S. bode poorly for future trucking volumes. Trucking is the critical node for transporting goods, handling over 70% of freight in the U.S. at a given time.
East and Gulf coast ports handled more volume than ever before in August, pulling far ahead of West Coast rivals.
Imports to the Port of New York and New Jersey are down this week, causing the Elizabeth, New Jersey, truckload market to soften. Shipments worldwide are down more than 33% since July 1.
FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller outlines how FreightWaves SONAR pointed to the global freight recession months ago.
The Port of Manzanillo has resumed operations after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Mexico’s Pacific Coast region Monday.
Container lines are pulling back fast from the ship-leasing market, signaling less confidence in future freight income.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Mexico’s Pacific Coast region, where the country’s largest container port is located.
Container shipping rates — particularly from Asia to the U.S. — are still falling hard and show no sign of finding a floor.
The ports at Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, continue to see monthly cargo growth from oil and steel shipments.
Outbound truckload tender volumes spiked this week out of Southern California, while intermodal volumes dipped due to a brief embargo. Could this be a result of shippers preparing for a potential strike?
The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.
U.S. containerized imports are still near record highs, but not in Los Angeles, where they’ve fallen sharply.
Labor actions are creating great uncertainty for rail shippers in the U.S. and for air and sea cargo in Europe.
Federal regulators are proposing a “burden-shifting regime” aimed at helping importers and exporters secure container space on ships.
FreightWaves’ Mary O’Connell and Brian Glick from Chain.io, dive into all things ocean freight.
