#Maritime

South Carolina Ports rides rails to robust January

Rail moves may be just as important to the South Carolina Ports Authority as those on water, so the SCPA can raise a glass to the record-setting January at Inland Port Greer.   

Inland Port Greer, the SCPA’s rail-served port in upstate South Carolina, recorded 13,401 rail moves, its best January and a 16% hike year-over-year. 

Container volumes were also up in January. South Carolina Ports handled 216,265 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the Wando Welch and North Charleston container...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/south-carolina-ports-rides-rails-to-robust-january

Transmission: Think Dogecoin is great? Check out Savannah’s port volumes

Just like Tom Brady and the Super Bowl, I’m back. Here’s what’s cookin’ today in Transmission:

  • Import volumes at Georgia port flying high
  • Chipmakers increasing investment to address global demand and chip shortage
  • Industry news

Import volumes at Georgia port flying high

Port congestion in LA is no joke. At the beginning of this month, there were 40 ships anchored outside the port awaiting berths. Unpredictably high volumes, labor constrained by COVID outbreaks and a lack of additional throughput...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transmission-think-dogecoin-is-great-check-out-savannahs-port-volumes

Global Supply Chain Week Day 2 highlights retail, construction industries

Revolutionizing warehouse operations, sourcing products domestically and preparing for import slowdowns are topics that will be discussed on Day Two of FreightWaves’ Global Supply Chain Week.

The eight-day virtual conference will be held from Feb. 22 through March 3 and will be streamed free on FreightWavesTV. The content will cover all aspects of transportation, from first to last mile.

Day Two of the virtual event features speakers from the retail, building and construction industries.

Changes...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/global-supply-chain-week-day-2-highlights-retail-construction-industries

Port of Long Beach has best January on record

The Port of Long Beach began 2021 the same way it ended 2020 — by setting records.

The port reported this week it just had its best January on record, moving 764,006 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 21.9% jump from the same month last year. It was the first time the nation’s second-busiest seaport handled more than 700,000 TEUs in the month of January, surpassing the previous record set in January 2018 by a whopping 106,176 TEUs. 

During his State of the Port address on Thursday, Executive...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-of-long-beach-has-best-january-on-record

CMA CGM expanding in Virginia, launching startup incubator

The CMA CGM Group this week announced it will grow its presence in Virginia, where the ocean container shipping company’s U.S. headquarters is located, and create more than 400 jobs. 

The company said it will invest a projected $36 million to expand operations in Hampton Roads, reinforce its headquarters in Norfolk and establish in Arlington County the American hub of ZEBOX, a startup incubator and accelerator initiated by Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group. 

“ZEBOX will assist...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cma-cgm-expanding-in-virginia-launching-startup-incubator

Crude tankers stuck in ‘rate hell’ but floating-storage pain wanes

crude tankers

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil …” begins a psalm that might comfort today’s crude-tanker investors.

Crude tankers have been condemned to an extended stay in “spot-rate hell,” lamented Stifel analyst Ben Nolan in his latest quarterly outlook. He wrote that the sector is only at the “halfway point in the very long road through the Valley of Death.” Nolan quoted Winston’s Churchill’s advice: “If you are going through hell, keep going.”

Clarksons...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/crude-tankers-stuck-in-rate-hell-but-floating-storage-pain-wanes

Ocean container losses topple annual average in 2 months

The World Shipping Council issued an eye-opening report last July. What seemed like a steady stream of vessel fires, capesizes and container losses was in fact a small drop in the global ocean shipping bucket. A WSC study found a tiny fraction, about .0006%,  of the roughly 226 million containers shipped on the world’s oceans each year were lost. 

WSC reported on average only 1,382 containers were lost at sea per year between 2018 and 2019. So what’s going on? Between Nov. 30 and Jan. 31, more...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ocean-container-losses-topple-annual-average-in-2-months

Port of Long Beach’s 2020 grew from bad to best

When naming a tune to describe 2020, “Bad” comes to mind. But Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero thinks more along symphonic lines, describing the year just past as a crescendo.  

“We started soft, in a sea of uncertainty, and we finished strong, topping 8.1 million TEUs — our best year ever,” Cordero said during his State of the Port address Thursday. “After a dire first half of the year, cargo came roaring back.”

In fact, despite a coronavirus-caused volume drought last spring,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-of-long-beachs-2020-grew-from-bad-to-best

War of words escalates as exporters scramble for scarce containers

export containers port

A war of words is heating up over U.S. exports, particularly food exports — and the outcome of that clash could affect U.S. containerized imports as well.

Reports first surfaced in late October that carriers were rushing containers back empty from California to Asia to serve lucrative headhaul trades instead of loading U.S. export cargoes.

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Michael Khouri warned in December: “We are looking into all potential responsive actions, including a review of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/war-of-words-escalates-as-exporters-scramble-for-scarce-containers

Ports press Congress, Biden for emergency funds

A coalition of 37 maritime industry groups is asking Congress and President Joe Biden to fund a new relief program to strengthen an industry weakened by the effects of COVID-19.

“Despite container surges at several large ports, commercial cargo volumes have plummeted across the industry — total waterborne trade volume is down 5.5% compared to last year, while the value of this trade has crashed by 12.7% totaling $200 billion,” the groups, which included the American Association of Port...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ports-press-congress-biden-for-emergency-funds

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