seaintelligence

US consumer demand for services not goods will keep freight rates high

Consumers in the United States, and the country’s low retail inventories, could keep freight rates elevated, even post-pandemic.
According to Alan Murphy, CEO & partner at Sea-Intelligence, a resurgence of consumer spending on services in favour of physical goods, won’t necessarily put a dent in the record freight levels seen during the Covid-crisis.
He said, during today’s TOC Asia webinar: “When US consumers can move their spending back to services, they’ll take …

The post US consumer demand...

https://theloadstar.com/us-consumer-demand-for-services-not-goods-will-keep-freight-rates-high/

Scores of container ships waiting to transit Suez Canal

Speculation is swirling that wind blew one of the world’s largest container ships off course and caused it to be lodged between the banks of the Suez Canal.

Social media also was flooded Wednesday with varying reports on the status of the Ever Given, which ran aground Tuesday morning. 

MarineTraffic imagery shows the backup in the Suez Canal Wednesday.

What is certain is that dozens of ships are waiting to transit the roughly 119-mile-long canal. Fifty ships on average use the canal between the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/scores-of-container-ships-waiting-to-transit-suez-canal

Carriers ‘cherry-picking’ customers as rates continue to head north

Container spot rates from Asia may have eased slightly from their record highs, post-Chinese new year, but rates for backhaul and secondary trades continue to head north.
According to today’s Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), the spot rate for North Europe is $7,684 per 40ft, down from more than $8,000 at the beginning of the month.
However, the FBX reading for Mediterranean ports, of $7,990 per 40ft, has held steady, while the spot …

The post Carriers ‘cherry-picking’ customers as rates continue to...

https://theloadstar.com/carriers-cherry-picking-customers-as-rates-continue-to-head-north/

Forwarders slam ‘diabolical’ service and ‘shameless profiteering’ by carriers

After another week of eye-watering freight rates breaking into new territory, forwarders have slammed shipping lines for “diabolical” service levels and accused them of “shameless profiteering”.
Asia-Europe rates have reached as high as $14,000, including surcharges, according to some forwarders, while this week’s Shanghai Containerised Freight Index set new records for spot rates on six deepsea trades.
At the same time, Sea-Intelligence reported a new low for service reliability of just 50% …

Th...

https://theloadstar.com/forwarders-slam-diabolical-service-and-shameless-profiteering-by-carriers/

Liner capacity control and the future of container shipping

container ship future

The world’s container liner business is now so consolidated that it can deftly match vessel capacity to cargo demand. This change — courtesy of mergers and alliances — is structural, not cyclical. If there’s a single thesis for container shipping in 2020, that is it.

Assuming it’s true, there could be major future implications for the cargo shippers, yards, box-equipment owners and ship lessors who do business with liners.

If liners can indefinitely calibrate capacity to cargo demand, the future...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/liner-capacity-control-and-the-future-of-container-shipping

Major digital step for NTB as it signs up with Portchain for berth optimisation

North Sea Terminal Bremerhaven (NTB) is the latest operator to sign-up for Portchain’s AI-powered berth optimisation engine, as the industry looks to tech to solve deteriorating schedule reliability.
Portchain claims its software will help NTB plan vessel berthing more effectively and enable sharing of berthing information in real-time with customers.
Thor Thorup, the Copenhagen firm’s chief commercial officer, said: “Berth optimisation is an important step in NTB’s ambitious digitisation...

https://theloadstar.com/major-digital-step-for-ntb-as-it-signs-up-with-portchain-for-berthing-optimisation/

OOCL Q3 revenue climbs 16.3%

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) posted a 16.3% increase in revenue — a healthy third-quarter recovery from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hong Kong-based container carrier reported total Q3 revenue was $1.91 billion. Revenue on trans-Pacific trade was up 18.4% to $825.3 million and 2.4% on the trans-Atlantic to $151.6 million. 

Total volumes were up 9.5% from Q3 2019, driven in large part by a 22.6% jump on the trans-Atlantic trade to 141,584 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs)....

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/oocl-q3-revenue-climbs-163

‘Volatile’ box trade has shifted ‘from a demand crisis to an operational crisis’

The era of low-cost ocean freight could be over as volatility and exception handling become the new battleground for forwarders and carriers.
According to Otto Schacht, Kuehne + Nagel’s executive vice president of sea logistics, this year’s supply chain shocks and volatility mean container shipping is moving away from being largely cost-focused.
For example, he said, many customers were expecting a 50%-60% drop in volumes in April and May, but demand came …

The post ‘Volatile’ box trade has...

https://theloadstar.com/volatile-box-trade-has-shifted-from-a-demand-crisis-to-an-operational-crisis/

China set to step in and hold down rates, with ocean freight ‘a global mess’

Chinese authorities are set to interfere in both pricing and capacity management on the transpacific, as rates soared to record highs again this week.
China’s ministry of communications today discussed refusing to allow carriers to increase the spot rate from China to the US, and that their suspended sailings must be reinstated from week 42.
The move was reported by Zest Shipping Media, but not confirmed by the government. Zest noted that …

The post China set to step in and hold down rates, with...

https://theloadstar.com/china-set-to-step-in-and-hold-down-rates-with-ocean-freight-a-global-mess/

Strong demand sees carriers pile back capacity into east – west trades

Due to continued increased demand, THE Alliance is extending its Asia – North Europe ‘extra loader’ programme with an additional five weekly sailings through to the end of September.
Earlier this month THEA members advised shippers that they would introduce the weekly loop commencing this week, lasting for a “limited period of four weeks” and deploying vessels of between 6,000 teu – 10,000 teu.
The move, said Hapag-Lloyd, was in response to …

The post Strong demand sees carriers pile back...

https://theloadstar.com/strong-demand-sees-carriers-pile-back-capacity-into-east-west-trades/

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