Loadstar posts

M&A radar: MSC & Lufthansa go for legacy Alitalia – just sublime

At The Loadstar Towers, we could barely contain our excitement yesterday when news broke that MSC Group and Lufthansa were going for ITA Airways, the ‘rejuvenated’ Alitalia (whatever is left of it), Italy’s flag carrier.
Which smells of sensational deal-making – strategic, too?
Uhmm 
“Today MSC Group has expressed to the Italian Government its interest in acquiring a majority stake in ITA Airways,” the statement read, adding that Germanys’ Lufthansa, the “project’s industrial partner”, …

The...

https://theloadstar.com/ma-radar-msc-lufthansa-go-for-legacy-alitalia-just-sublime/

OOCL ‘supercharged’ record final-quarter earnings tempered by falling volumes

Huge increases in freight rates last year are likely to lead to container carriers reporting record fourth-quarter earnings, despite carrying fewer volumes than in Q4 20.
This morning, Cosco-owned OOCL released its fourth-quarter operational update that reported volumes across its four main trades declined by 16.9% to 1.85m teu, compared with Q4 20’s 2.23m.
The financial performance, however, was markedly different, with total revenues more than doubling, from $2.4bn in the fourth …

The post OOCL...

https://theloadstar.com/oocl-supercharged-record-final-quarter-earnings-tempered-by-falling-volumes/

New York nudges biggest US container port title as west coast imports flatline

Having already outstripped Long Beach as a bigger US import container hub, the port of New York & New Jersey is close to usurping Los Angeles at the top of the rankings.
The reason is the accelerating coastal shift of imports from west to east.
According to the latest data compiled by Blue Alpha Capital,  NY&NJ saw imports jump 15% year on year in December, to 411,924 teu, while at Los Angeles …

The post New York nudges biggest US container port title as west coast imports flatline appeared...

https://theloadstar.com/new-york-nudges-biggest-us-container-port-title-as-west-coast-imports-flatline/

Wan Hai and Cosco follow Evergreen and agree more generous bonuses

After a second year of record profits for the liner shipping industry, Wan Hai  and Cosco have fallen in line to join Evergreen in paying bountiful bonuses to staff.
Wan Hai, whose $2.49bn net profit for the first three quarters of 2021 was a near 20-fold year-on-year increase, is reported to be paying staff bonuses equal to a full year’s salary, plus TW$1m ($36,093).
A source is quoted saying tat Wan Hai …

The post Wan Hai and Cosco follow Evergreen and agree more generous bonuses appeared...

https://theloadstar.com/wan-hai-and-cosco-follow-evergreen-and-agree-more-generous-bonuses/

Analysis: Mærsk – the vertical consolidation bluff

Hardly a day goes by when the risk of the ocean carriers invading the freight forwarding space, one way or another*, seems to become more real.
(*Either cutting out or simply trying to replace the middleman’s services with their own, if/when asset-light services are added to their offering mix via M&A.)
Background 
And while the narrative is the one promoted by the the most prominent container logistics integrator AP Møller-Mærsk (APMM) in May …

The post Analysis: Mærsk – the vertical...

https://theloadstar.com/analysis-maersk-the-vertical-consolidation-bluff/

Heppner strengthens its European network and diversifies its expertise with the acquisition of Safram

PRESS RELEASE
Heppner announces the acquisition of the Swiss Group SAFRAM, with operations in Switzerland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Hungary. This acquisition forms part of Heppner’s international growth and business diversification strategy, now with the integration of expertise in dangerous goods transport and logistics. 
The overall goal is to strengthen the European territorial network, perceived as a vector of new economic dynamics
After the acquisition of Hamacher Logistik...

https://theloadstar.com/heppner-strengthens-its-european-network-and-diversifies-its-expertise-with-the-acquisition-of-safram/

Belgium subsidises barges in bid to shift freight from road to inland waterways

Efforts to improve inland services at Antwerp, North Sea Port and Zeebrugge stepped up this week, with the Flemish government injecting €12.5m ($14.18m) of financial support.
The Loadstar understands that the grants are part of a four-year plan, to be topped up by the gateways to €14.3m, to subsidise projects intended to increase the share of volumes moving by barge and to disincentivise road movements.
A source told The Loadstar: “While €14.3m …

The post Belgium subsidises barges in bid to...

https://theloadstar.com/belgium-subsidises-barges-in-bid-to-shift-freight-from-road-to-inland-waterways/

Shipping Australia appoints My Therese Blank as its first female director

Shipowner and operator association Shipping Australia has appointed the first female director in its 110-year history.
My Therese Blank heads Maersk Group’s Oceania-Market, covering the ocean business in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. She has more than 15 years’ experience in shipping and logistics across Europe, Asia and Oceania in senior roles including Australia sales and country director and Oceania area customer service director.
In 2013, she established Maersk’s presence …

https://theloadstar.com/shipping-australia-appoints-therese-blank-as-its-first-female-director/

Asia-USWC spot rates spike as Chinese New Year holiday looms

Container spot rates from Asia to the US west coast spiked this week, ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday on 1 February.
Drewry’s WCI US west coast component put on 5%, to $11,197 per 40ft, while the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), which includes an element of premium fees, gained 3.5%, to $15,139.
For the US east coast, there were mixed messages from the spot indices, with the WCI up 2% on the …

The post Asia-USWC spot rates spike as Chinese New Year holiday looms appeared first on The Loadstar.

https://theloadstar.com/asia-uswc-spot-rates-spike-as-chinese-new-year-holiday-looms/

Marco and DP World launch platform to bridge financial gap for SMEs

SME-finance platform Marco has joined forces with DP World’s CARGOES Finance to offer supply-chain financing, factoring and various other forms of lending to address what it claims is a gap of $1.7 trillion in available global trade finance.
Marco’s lending platform uses AI to perform several of the steps necessary to provide finance in an effort to speed up the process. Its MarcoScan document recognition and analytics tool, is embedded in …

The post Marco and DP World launch platform to bridge...

https://theloadstar.com/marco-and-dp-world-launch-platform-to-bridge-financial-gap-for-smes/

+ More