Corporate governance in shipping: Who’s been naughty or nice?

Shipping has long suffered an image problem on Wall Street, fueled by perceptions that some shareholders have been ripped off by self-dealing management.

No analyst has focused on the fair treatment of shipping’s common stockholders more than Michael Webber. He has published an annual corporate governance scorecard for shipping since 2016, until 2019 at Wells Fargo and since then at his own firm, Webber Research & Advisory.

Bulker owner Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE: GNK) ranks first in this...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shipping-corporate-governance-whos-been-naughty-or-nice

Container lessor Triton to go private in $13.3B deal

The world’s largest owner and lessor of shipping containers, Triton International, is being taken private by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a deal valuing the company at $13.3 billion.

Brookfield Infrastructure (NYSE: BIP) will pay $85 per share for Triton (NYSE: TRTN), a 35% premium to Triton’s closing price on Tuesday. Triton shareholders will receive $68.50 per share in cash, with the remaining $16.50 paid in partial shares of Brookfield stock.

The deal, which Triton announced...

Demand for container equipment is falling. Transitory or turning point?

container shipping

Container lines will post more all-time highs for the first quarter, but could that be their earnings peak? Evidence of market softening continues to mount in the container equipment business.

The higher consumer demand and port congestion rises, the more container lines and leasing companies pay for newly manufactured containers, the higher the production of Chinese container factories, the longer liners lease containers, the more liners pay to rent them, and the higher the sale price of older...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/demand-for-container-equipment-is-falling-transitory-or-turning-point

Supply chain signals: New container prices and production finally peak

container shipping

For a telling window on the global supply chain crisis, watch the market for the containers themselves: the commoditized, corrugated steel boxes that move the world’s cargo.

The extremely consolidated container manufacturing industry in China built more containers than ever before in 2021: 7.18 million twenty-foot equivalent units, according to consultancy Drewry, up 130% from 2020 and 62% from the previous record year in 2018.

Record container production coincided with a record surge in prices,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/supply-chain-signals-new-container-production-and-pricing-finally-peak

Shipping’s extreme consolidation could prolong supply chain pain

container shipping

U.S. policymakers have never been more focused on global container shipping than they are today. Yet the “steel” of this industry — the ships and the containers — is outside of U.S. control, consolidated into the hands of an extremely small circle of non-U.S. companies that continue to bolster their market shares. The big keep getting bigger.

Olivier Ghesquiere, CEO of container-equipment lessor Textainer (NYSE: TGH), summed up the situation during his company’s quarterly conference call.

“The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippings-extreme-consolidation-could-prolong-supply-chain-pain

How long does it take to build a shipping container?

containers

How long does it take to build a container? The short answer is: The time is insignificant, a matter of hours including the automated process of putting the steel walls together and drying the paint.

Containers are built at highly efficient and highly automated factories, virtually all of which are in China. Eight out of every 10 containers built worldwide are produced by just three Chinese companies: CIMC, Dong Fang and CXIC.

One indicator of just how quickly new boxes can be popped out: China’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-a-shipping-container

Containers are being built at a record pace. It’s still not enough

container

When will the container capacity crunch finally ease? For an early indicator, keep an eye on production of the humble 40-foot dry cargo box. If the volume and cost of new containers pull back, supply chain pressures are abating.

Unfortunately for beleaguered cargo shippers, these bellwethers now imply the opposite: that the scramble for container capacity is growing even more intense.

New container prices still rising

On Tuesday, the world’s largest container-equipment leasing company, Triton...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/containers-are-being-built-at-a-record-pace-its-still-not-enough

No relief: Global container shortage likely to last until 2022

container

The world simply does not have enough containers to handle cargo demand. It’s a conundrum that has persisted for so long that the mainstream press is finally covering it.  

The New York Times reported Friday how the box shortfall is contributing to inflation: “Demand … has outstripped the availability of containers,” while the U.S. pandemic situation has eased to the point where retailers can pass along higher transport costs to consumers without being accused of price gouging — and “the cost of...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/no-relief-global-container-shortage-likely-to-last-until-2022

Chinese factories won’t build enough containers to save US shippers

containers

There are still not enough containers in the right places to carry the world’s cargoes. The hope was that Chinese container factories would shift into ultra-high gear — that the industry would build its way out of the equipment crisis.

It hasn’t happened.

In fact, Chinese factories are intentionally not going into their highest gear, according to Tim Page, interim president and CEO of container-equipment lessor CAI International (NYSE: CAI). Instead, they are managing output to keep prices high.

Th...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/chinese-factories-wont-build-enough-containers-to-save-us-shippers

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

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