Shipping

“Be careful what you wish for,” warns industry expert Lars Jensen of proposals to rein in container shipping’s boom.

Los Angeles’ port boss speaks to American Shipper about congestion challenges — and potential release valves.

Container giant earned $5.1 billion in the second quarter and expects earnings of $18 billion-$19.5 billion for the year.

U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio still historically low as key import source — China — faces growing delta variant risk.

Almost no container ships were stuck at anchor when 2020 peak season began. This peak season, terminals are pre-clogged.

Disparities between container index prices wider than ever after big course correction by Freightos.

The scramble for container capacity is growing even more intense

Despite all-time-high container production, demand continues to outpace supply and new box prices keep rising.

Good news for dry bulk shipping stocks, bad news for decarbonization: The global coal trade is thriving.

The numbers are in on shipping executive pay – and they’re big

Despite epic container rates and hefty dry bulk profits, stocks fell by double digits over the past three weeks.

Container ships in the congestion-plagued trans-Pacific trade have stepped on the gas, with some vessels now topping 20 knots.

Wave of cargo delayed by COVID outbreak in Yantian, China, is starting to hit California’s already strained terminals.

Faster, safer, better — these consumer expectations for e-commerce delivery are driving a speed-focused freight market.

An in-depth look at CEO compensation in container shipping, bulk shipping and the cruise industry

More than 3 months after getting stuck in Suez Canal, container ship, cargo and crew are moving again

New disclosures by lines point to massive ocean-carrier profits in the second quarter.

E-commerce pushes rapid growth in domestic parcel business

More box ships, bulkers and tankers are changing hands than ever before — good news for ship values and stocks.

Ocean carriers could make up for two decades’ worth of losses in a single year as demand overwhelms vessel supply.

California offshore traffic jam, Ever Given, Yantian closure, skyrocketing rates and volumes … what’s next for container shipping?

More problems loom for importers of Asian containerized goods and tanker slump could last even longer.

Rates for smaller bulkers remain at decade highs with most dry bulk stocks up triple digits since November.

A year and a half after COVID emerged in Wuhan, China’s exporters, liners, shipyards and container factories are all booming.

There has never been a better time to own container ships and lease them to liners. But some owners are selling ships and cashing out.

Americans are spending more on services. Contrary to predictions, this has yet to curb demand for containerized goods.

Spot pricing has surged even higher, propelled by carrier rate hikes and China congestion fallout.

Container Ship Fleet Size by Nationality of Operation

The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.

Former chief mate of MSC Gayane gets seven years behind bars for lead role in massive 2019 smuggling operation.

Decision to secure dedicated vessel highlights unprecedented strength of container shipping and risks faced by importers.

Container spot rates spiked again, with new records set. For importers, the worst is yet to come.

Rising fuel costs are yet another woe for containerized cargo shippers, while widening spreads should benefit ships with scrubbers.

The proposals hope to enforce the carriage of trade and excessive penalties U.S. importers are being charged by foreign carriers.

Consolidation in the liner sector is already extreme. Newbuild orders will further concentrate market power in fewer hands.

Congestion is cutting liner capacity just as freight rates are at all-time highs, incentivizing carriers to buy or charter more ships.

Environmental regs could extend future dry bulk and tanker upside, while consolidation could change curve of container-shipping cycle.

Retailers at increasing risk of not getting goods from Asia on shelves as ocean transport system hits limit.

Freight forwarder will pay “absolute historic high” to secure container ship as “people are panicking” amid “out of control” market.

The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) is the world’s leading—and most accurate—index of market rates for 40′ containers.

DCSA is working on two key standards that will help improve visibility for shippers in the future.

Ships at anchor are unlikely to clear by peak season. Congestion is forcing wide-scale voyage cancellations.

The containers that U.S. shippers need are all built in China, where factories could set a new production record this year.

How bad is it? A Vietnam-New York slot was just offered at $19,000 per FEU, reveals Flexport’s Nerijus Poskus.

ZIM is the liner most exposed to upside from America’s import binge. It’s taking full advantage of the situation.

AT&T and Sony have teamed up for a new shipping label that activates sensors to track and monitor packages as they travel throughout the supply chain.

With the retail inventory-to-sales ratio still falling, U.S. importers are urged to move fast on their holiday import plans.

Container rates are in uncharted territory. If demand continues to outpace supply, there’s little to stop them from ascending further.

The situation for importers is getting even more dire. Already extreme container rates are ascending to even higher peaks.

Danaos will stockpile cash from the current boom and spend it on new ships when environmental regs are clearer.

Trans-Atlantic product tanker rates have spiked, but a quick pipeline restart would curb future upside.

are pumping across the country, but it seems routing guides have finally shown signs of improvement. Pair the declining electronic tenders with declining tender rejections, fewer spot volumes, and both contract and spot rates headed lower, the picture of an improving environment can be visualized.

Formerly containerized cargoes are being loaded onto bulkers. Box-ship orders are keeping future bulker growth in check.

UPS-commissioned survey said health and safety protocols will keep more gift-givers home this year

Tanker execs explain lack of distress sales and scrapping this time around, and why new orders will be more curtailed.

Maersk reveals more details on its shift toward long-term contracts at the expense of spot exposure.

Importers are scrambling as demand sails past ocean transport supply. The numbers paint an ominous picture for cargo shippers.

COVID has been great for stocks. In ocean shipping, container and dry bulk shares rode the wave. Tankers stocks sank.

Chinese container production still trails torrid demand. Ever Given accident was ‘icing on the cake’ — making box shortfall worse.

Now that shipping lines hold the pricing cards, importers must reset strategies, says Sea-Intelligence’s Jochen Gutschmidt.

West Coast congestion could last into the fall as retailers face stockouts on essential goods, says ocean carrier Matson.

Trans-Pacific container crunch is about to become even more severe, warns Flexport, with May sailings now effectively sold out.

The once-stagnant logistics industry has undergone rapid change in recent years. The 2017 electronic logging device mandate sparked something of a technological revolution within the industry. This focus on tech — coupled with outside forces ranging from consumer demand to climate change — has fostered an environment of innovation. Companies that are slow to adapt to new expectations are likely to be left behind. Shippers are no exception.

Liners are paying historically high rates to charter ships and maximize their exposure to the booming freight market.

U.S. importers will be paying a lot more for annual ocean contracts this year, but pricing inflation has eased.

Dry bulk shipping rates are now double to triple five-year averages. Stock prices of dry bulk owners are on the ascent.

Shippers who have a deep understanding of their data, with access to comprehensive models, are the ones most likely to win in today’s shipping environment.

Savannah’s record March underscores why it’s investing hundreds of millions on new capacity upgrades.

U.S. ports just booked their largest import hikes in memory, according to The McCown Report.

Imports into Los Angeles at not slowing down. Can the backlog be cleared before the peak-season swell begins?

More than a third of the crew on the MSC Gayane smuggled cocaine in June 2019. The first prison term has just been handed down.

As cargo shippers struggle, container-vessel companies rake in massive profits. Early signals point to record Q1 results.

Container shipping spot rates haven’t budged from COVID-fueled peaks. Cargo shippers’ hopes for a rate pullback are fading.

Glimmers of hope for the beaten-down tanker sector: more OPEC+ crude production and more long-haul exports from the U.S. to India.

Days after Ever Given backlog was declared cleared, the number of ships waiting to transit the Suez Canal remains high (with video).

Twenty tons of coke was found aboard an MSC ship in 2019. MSC just revealed that it’s spending $100 million more on security in response.

Bad timing: Still-rising cargo demand is coinciding with container-shipping constraints in the wake of the Suez Canal crisis.

Daniel Maffei becomes chairman at a time of massive disruption in the world of trade.

‘Bigger is better’ is the mantra of public tanker companies. The just-announced INSW-Diamond S merger is a step in that direction.

Suez Canal accident aftermath: Extensive disruptions are ahead for key Asia-East Coast container shipping services.

The longer the Suez saga continues, the greater the container, tanker and dry bulk shipping impacts. There could be big losers — and winners.

Back in the Aristotle Onassis era, a Suez Canal closure was a tanker game changer. Today, tanker upside from the canal accident is limited.

California’s container-ship traffic jam is slightly less jammed but import pressure remains high. One analyst warns the worst may be yet to come.

Ocean carrier ZIM just released record results and confirmed huge gains for contract rates. So why did its stock sink?

Newbuild-to-fleet ratio now 15.3%, up from 9.4% in mid-2020. But orders are not high enough yet to wave red flags.

Import volumes are growing rapidly into secondary ports as shippers scramble to build inventory. What are some of the short- and long-term implications to domestic transportation providers?

Deutsche Bank’s Amit Mehrotra on how long import surge could last and upside potential for container, dry bulk and tanker stocks.

Tanker and bulker spot rates can go sub zero — some tanker rates are there now. What do the negative numbers really mean?

Container, dry bulk and tanker stocks push forward. Biggest winner since mid-2020: Danaos, up (this is not a typo) 1,202%.

Anchorages are filling up with ships off multiple ports — not just California’s. Yet the reasons behind the traffic jams are not always the same.

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.

Analysts tally tanker fallout after OPEC+ stuns market with decision to hold the line of production cuts.

If ocean freight rates have legs, analysts see much more room for the secondhand ship values to run — which should, in turn, boost stocks.

Jefferies senior analyst Randy Giveans outlines why it is now a particularly good time to buy container-shipping stocks.

Today’s container market chaos underscores the need for enforceable ocean contracts as opposed to loose agreements, argues consultant Tom Craig.

The bosses of public dry bulk shipping companies claim that recent market oddities point to good times ahead.

Evan Efstathiou discusses why VCs are looking to invest more in maritime just as shipowners are looking to partner more with startups.

BIMCO’s Peter Sand discusses whether container shipping’s ‘new normal’ has legs and what’s next for the sector.

Globalization isn’t just driven by comparative advantage. It is skewed by subsidies and mispricing of risk, according to author Marc Levinson.