FreightWaves Ocean

June volumes of containerized imports were higher than normal and the National Retail Federation predicts more gains ahead.

U.S. imports via Canadian ports face rising fallout as the war of words escalates between dockworkers and employers.

New Jersey container imports are unscathed “so far” but the port’s automobile trade faces fallout from the ongoing fire.

Sluggish demand is capping shipping lines’ income. In response, at least one carrier is reportedly moving to limit losses on legacy charters.

Declining demand for Chinese exports and reduced stimulus options threaten bulk commodity import prospects.

The Wagner mutiny is drawing attention to what happens after the war in Ukraine ends. When it does, shipping will see major changes.

Concerns over highly dilutive share offerings by microcap shipowners have been building for years. The debate just intensified.

Trans-Pacific spot shipping rates remain under pressure, slumping back again as U.S. import demand comes up short.

The International Energy Agency predicts Asia will buy growing volumes of U.S. crude through 2028. That’s good news for supertanker demand.

The U.S. supply chain has dodged a bullet. A new dockworker labor deal will keep the peace at West Coast ports.

“Patience is wearing thin. Neither side imagined it would take this long,” says the head of the Port of LA on dockworker contract talks.

Mainstream European tanker owners that are willing to load Russian oil are far outperforming the broader market.

This year’s peak season could see West Coast labor disruptions coincide with Panama Canal water levels impeding cargo flows to the East Coast.

Dockworkers who keep West Coast cargo flowing are highly paid. Their bid for even higher pay is starting to affect the cargo flow.

Demand remains tepid, yet shipping lines have pushed spot rates off the bottom and secured contract rates above spot levels.

The dockworkers’ union and terminal employers are still sparring over wages and benefits more than a year after contract talks began.

Five years after bringing dry bulk freight futures to the masses, Breakwave makes a splash in tanker investing.

Older ships are being kept in service longer in pursuit of profits, heightening the risk of accidents and spills.

Despite a slow Memorial Day start, summer demand is expected to hike tanker rates in the months ahead.

Not all cargo markets are back to pre-COVID “normal.” Container shipping rates to South America remain elevated.

Large liquefied petroleum gas tankers are riding high on rising U.S. exports and higher Chinese import demand.

Bed Bath & Beyond “failed to manage its own supply chain” and “exacerbated the bottlenecks faced by other shippers,” alleges OOCL.

Zim outperformed competitors on the way up and is falling faster than other carriers on the way down.

Europe faced a potentially disastrous energy shortage after war broke out. LNG shipping played a vital role in limiting the fallout.

Outsize profits are still flowing to companies like Danaos and Costamare that lease ships to container lines.

The container shipping party is over — that’s old news. Yet headlines continue to focus on comparisons to the peak.

The CEO of shipping line Hapag-Lloyd argues that current freight rates are unsustainable and will correct upward over time.

Is the sharp decline in shipping stocks a canary in the coal mine or an opportunity for investors to buy the dip?

America’s imports are not signaling a recession, at least not yet. Inbound volumes are rising from the bottom.

The war has stoked fears of global shortfalls of wheat, corn and fertilizers, but the flexibility of shipping trades has limited the risk.

Inventory destocking is the biggest container shipping headwind, says Maersk. Its data shows no evidence of inventory pressures alleviating yet.

The price of crude oil is now lower than it was when OPEC announced its latest cuts, fueling more concern on tanker demand.

Bed Bath & Beyond got pummeled by the supply chain crisis. The company is now targeting shipping lines for allegedly compounding its woes.

The Europe-U.S. trade held up a lot longer than the Asia-U.S. trade, but trans-Atlantic premiums are now fading away.

Tanker investors have been disappointed before. Is the current stock pullback a bump in the road or something more?

As new container ships flood the market amid weak demand, Drewry expects low freight rates to persist through 2024.

There is growing sentiment that higher trans-Pacific spot rates will not hold and prospects for shipping lines remain weak.

Mainstream tankers have moved into the Russian crude export trade. The price cap might push them back out again.

“We are starting to see ocean carriers systematically take geopolitical risk into consideration,” says Xeneta’s Erik Devetak.

Jefferies’ Omar Nokta believes container shipping investors are starting to look toward “the end of the destock and beginning of the restock.”

“Simply put, there’s no bigger priority right now than this contract agreement,” says Gene Seroka of the Port of Los Angeles.

Although import volumes show signs of a nascent recovery, the inventory overhang remains daunting.

First-quarter numbers from container lines Cosco, OOCL and Evergreen show lingering upside from the tail end of the boom.

After labor unrest closed Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday, ports on the East and Gulf coasts look even more attractive.

Worsening China-U.S. relations underscore how pivotal geopolitics has become to global shipping and trade.

Despite a collapse in freight rates, container shipping is not behaving like an industry facing an imminent crisis.

Crude production cuts are inherently bad for tanker shipping, but analysts are downplaying the fallout.

The trend in container shipping is summed up by the adage, “The higher you climb, the further you have to fall.”

Surging costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be a taste of things to come as shipping transitions to more expensive “green” fuels.

The lineup of shipping stocks is in flux. There are multiple new listings as well as notable departures.

A fifth of U.S. containerized imports come from Europe. Shipping on this route remains much more expensive than it used to be.

Container shipping just experienced a record boom. Some believe crude and product tankers are poised to follow suit.

Shipowners say they won’t order expensive new dual-fuel tankers without charters. They’re not getting charters, so they’re not ordering.

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.

Tanker capacity for diesel is already tight amid war fallout. With very few ships on order, future transport capacity could fall short.

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.

With virtually no new ships on order and demand strengthening, the tanker business seems poised for a bull run.

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.

Charter rates are far below the peak but higher than pre-COVID as liners continue to sign new container-ship leases.

Larger crude tankers are moving more U.S. exports on shorter voyages to Europe as long-haul volumes to China stagnate.

After a year of sanctions and “self sanctions,” shipping cargoes caught in the crossfire continue to find their way to buyers.

New Alphaliner data highlights the enormity of new container shipping capacity that’s poised for delivery.

Two container shipping experts give their take on how the hangover after the pandemic boom could play out.

The Baltic Dry Index has fallen 91% since October 2021 to one of its lowest levels ever, yet shipowners remain confident.

Los Angeles continues to face a double whammy of sinking demand and fears over the port labor contract that expired in July.

Ocean carrier revenues fell sharply in the fourth quarter versus the third and continued sinking in January.

Sanctions have split the world’s tanker fleet in two. On one side, those that follow Western rules; on the other, those that don’t.

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 tanker industry has a storied history of corporate showdowns. The latest, a three-way tussle involving Euronav, looks far from over.

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.

Russian crude restrictions are having the predicted effect on tanker trades, soaking up more vessel capacity as sailing distance lengthens.

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.

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.

Imports continue to decline and are close to where they were before COVID-19, but the coastal mix is very different.

Descartes: Las importaciones de diciembre de 2022 sólo un 1,3% por encima de las de diciembre de 2019

Sanctions on Russian crude exports have yet to boost tanker rates. Some question whether sanctions on Russian diesel will either.

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.

The predicted boost to tanker rates from Russian crude disruptions has yet to materialize. Instead, rates have declined.

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.

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.

Un primer semestre “lento para la carga” en 2023, predice el consejero delegado de la compañía de transporte marítimo ONE

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.