Container Shipping News

[LupusProximo]

Orange Agent will grab Ryukyu . Izu and Boni islands as a gesture of reciprocity.

[ombugge]

MSC books up to eight megamaxes at Changhong International - Splash247

The world’s largest container carrier has a fleet of about 6.4m teu, commanding around 20% share of the global operated fleet. The company’s massive orderbook now stands at more than 130 ships, which is, following the latest deal, projected to boost the fleet by an additional 2.15m slots in the coming years.

[ombugge]

Trump Targets China With Biggest Salvo So Far in Second Term

Container sector set to take biggest hit from US plans to charge...

The majority of ocean-going ships would pay the maximum port fee given their net tonnages, according to analysis by Jefferies, an investment bank.
“These fees would likely require re-organizing fleet patterns and make US calls more lucrative on a freight rate basis, which operators would aim to pass on,” a note from Jefferies stated.

“As the Trump 2.0 reality show unfolds, as it does daily, often with singular market-moving tweets, we might as well suspend trying to make credible forecasts of future supply-demand balance across shipping sectors. Underwhelming spot earnings render shipping sentiment downbeat while we seek greater clarity on today’s geopolitical, trade and social threats,” noted a recent report from broker Hartland Shipping.

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Smart Container Alliance launches - Splash247

The launch of the Smart Container Alliance coincides with the reform of the EU Customs Union since its inception in 1968. Smart containers are set to play a key role in the shift towards a data-driven approach to customs checks, reinforcing security measures across European ports and beyond.

With its headquarters in Brussels, the alliance will engage with policymakers, industry leaders, and enforcement agencies to support a harmonised approach to trade security.

[ombugge]

It is not only in the terminal business that container shipping lines are competing for supremacy:

CMA CGM overtakes Maersk in the liner rankings - Splash247

The latest data from Alphaliner shows CMA CGM’s fleet – including ships on order – stands at 5.42m slots, some 140,000 teu more than its Danish rival. Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) remains far out in the lead, however, its fleet – including ships on order – is now at 8.47m slots, larger than the extant fleets of CMA CGM and Maersk combined.

CMA CGM can trace its origins back to 1978 when Jacques Saadé founded Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement (CMA) as an intra-Mediterranean operator. In 1996, Saadé merged CMA with Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) to create what was then the 12th largest liner in the world. Saadé, who was born in Beirut in 1937, then went on to buy many famous shipping brands including Australian National Line (ANL), American President Lines (APL), and Cheng Lie Navigation. His son, Rodolphe, took over the business following Saadé’s death in 2018, adding many logistics acquisitions alongside the ship purchases.

[ombugge]

Liner shipping profits forecast to slide by more than 80% this year - Splash247

The Bank of International Settlements has warned that the uncertainty generated by Trump’s promises to impose tariffs and embark on a massive job cull threatens the world economy’s soft landing after years of high inflation and elevated interest rates. It stated that “policy uncertainty on tariffs, US fiscal policy, immigration, and regulation … work like a negative demand shock. They would have negative effects on spending, investment and we see some signs of that. If tariffs are implemented – and some have been – then the negative demand shocks can become supply shocks and give rise to inflationary pressure.”

The Houthis of Yemen have put their campaign against merchant shipping on hold, with no attacks reported in 2[/quote]025 so far, as Israel and Hamas take steps toward peace. The situation remains tense however with very few liners returning to take the Suez route between Asia and Europe.

PS> Things change quickly in Shipping, not to mention in US politics:

[ombugge]

$3.5m: How much this COSCO ship might be charged when calling at a US port -...

In total, that COSCO ship would be charged $3.5m per port call or $10.5m for each voyage involving three west coast ports. With ten 35-day voyages per year, that would translate into $105m in annual fees just for that one COSCO vessel. If that vessel were to operate at 100% utilisation inbound, generally not possible due to seasonality, it would move 100,000 teu which is the equivalent of $1,050 per teu. That is equivalent to $2,100 for the typical 40’ container moving in that lane. To put that fee into perspective, it is equal to 72% of the latest Drewry spot rate in the Shanghai to Los Angeles tradelane of $2,906 per feu.
“Clearly that fee would make that COSCO ship non-competitive and trade involving such a ship would be constrained,” McCown wrote.

So clearly in it is not possible for COSCO to compete with the many US container ships, built by US yards in the trans-Pacific trade.

Unless they can pass the extra cost onto the consignee, who will pass it on to the wholesalers, who will pass it on to the retailers, who will ultimately pass it on to the consumers on both side of the Pacific.
NOTE: At each step a markup in percentage of the price charged by the link before, is added to the cost.

PS> That is just like for the tariffs charged at entry point, it is passed on to the consumers down the same chain.

[ombugge]

Uncertainties caused by the chaos in Washington DC:

Trump’s tariff war only directly impacting 1.5% of global seaborne trade...

This week the office of the United States Trade Representative will hold a public hearing on March 24 and March 26, 2025, regarding proposed actions in the Section 301 investigation on China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance.

Peter Sand, chief analyst at container freight rate platform Xeneta, said:” “Given the massive uncertainty surrounding the US trade policy towards tariffs and proposals for port fees targeted at Chinese ships and carriers, shippers will seize any opportunity to lower their overall import costs during freight rate negotiations.

P.A.> The shippers will pass the cost on to the consumers as the last link in the supply chain.

[spowiednick]

Dr,Sal is really pissed off and promised me just now some muppet show . Here is his broadside salvo. Can not hear , can not watch and asks legit question wtf is going on with shipping.

Hearings Begin on China's Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors For Dominance

Now I have a question .
It looks like US is unquestionable champion in milking others, threathening, sanctioning , blackmailing, extortion techniques ,coercion , mafia style and Saul Alynski shakedowns , manifesting military/navy presence & from time to time shooting little bit here and there.
And this is all in the name of free trade and globalisation , free competition - all that slogans called in maritime B.S. or horseshit.

May be You or even better a historian Dr.Sal can answer that .

What is the difference between Barbary Pirates and The United States .???

[ombugge]

How the liner lineup has changed this century - Splash247

This is a market which has undergone extreme consolidation
These 26 newcomers in total operate 6% of the global fleet – versus the 84% operated by the survivors, Sea-Intelligence data shows.

“Clearly, this is a market which has undergone extreme consolidation. But it has also been a 25-year journey, where the incumbents have clearly been better at adapting and growing in the market than the newcomers,” Sea-Intelligence noted.

[ombugge]

Container bookings into the US slump by two-thirds in the space of one...

Data from Vizion’s TradeView Global Trade Intelligence Platform shows that container bookings into the US have dropped 67% in the past seven days compared to the week prior. They also indicate export bookings being down 40%.

“If these numbers are anywhere near correct, this is an extremely large disruption to the trade flows we are seeing,” commented Lars Jensen, the CEO of container consultancy Vespucci Maritime, in a LinkedIn post.

Maybe some “good news” for container shipping for a change.
(Thanks heaven for small mercies):

US looks set to water down penalties on Chinese tonnage - Splash247

“They’re not all going to be implemented. They’re not all going to be stacked,” Greer said yesterday, likely to the relief of many in shipping who are still having to come to terms with the many other bombshells being unleashed by the second instalment of the Donald Trump administration which include tariffs, walking away from the International Maritime Organization, and laying down claims to the Panama Canal.

Full details of the US port fees on China-linked tonnage are likely to be revealed later this month.

[ombugge]

Early liner peak season gets underway - Splash247

[quote]
“A boom and an early peak season into the US will start right now,” predicted analysts at Danish consultancy Sea-Intelligence in a weekly report, published yesterday.

“All US importers getting cargo from anywhere but China, are sure to fast-track volume in the next three months, to get their peak season goods through customs, before the July 9th deadline,” Sea-Intelligence explained.

Clarksons Research data suggests that 6% of global container trade in teu is accounted for by US imports from China – the world’s two superpowers -which will now be charged at elevated tariff levels of at least 145%. A further 8% is at the 10% baseline level.

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Maybe the world is reacting differently than expected to tariffs and port dues?:

Scale of blank sailings dwarfs covid era as US-China trade dries up - Splash247

Blank sailings occur when ocean carriers skip scheduled port calls due to low freight demand or equipment shortages, disrupting supply chains. In April 2025, over 80 blank sailings were reported, surpassing the 51 from May 2020, signalling a severe collapse in global shipping activity.

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Steep drop in Chinese freight ship traffic to Ports of LALB

For the week ending May 3, the number of freight vessels leaving China and headed to the Southern California ports, the main US ports receiving Chinese freight and other Asian trade, is down 29 per cent week over week, according to Port Optimizer, a tracking system for ships.

“We are at a tipping point on the West Coast,” said Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics. “Looking at how many truck loads are available versus trucks, we’ve seen a precipitous drop, over 700,000 loads have evaporated nationally in the past week compared to two weeks prior,” he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently told a group of investors the trade war with China was unsustainable, and that a de-escalation could be coming in the “very near future”, a person in the room told CNBC.

Source: Shipping Gazette

[ombugge]

Antwerp Surpasses Rotterdam in Q1 Containers as Ports Fear U.S. Tariffs

In a surprise development, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges surpassed the Port of Rotterdam for container volume during the first quarter of 2025. Traditionally Europe’s second busiest port, Antwerp-Burges highlighted its market share in the Hamburg-Le Havre Range increased to 30.5 percent, and on a global level, the port climbed one position to reach 14 in the ranking of largest ports, but like all its peers, the port is anticipating a tough period in the coming months related to the unrelenting tariff policy of Donald Trump.

“The first three months of this year were characterized by a high degree of volatility in world trade as a result of threatened import duties in the United States and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East,” said Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of Port of Rotterdam Authority. “This volatility has led to uncertainty among companies in the areas of trade and investment. We see this reflected in throughput volumes and the willingness to invest. In these uncertain times, it remains as important as ever that, together with national and European governments, the Port of Rotterdam continues to work towards a competitive European investment climate.”

[gumbyman]

And now the ILWU is releasing a statement, ILWU Statement of Policy Opposing Tariffs - ILWU

I never thought the leopard would eat MY face…

[ombugge]

It was only a matter of time.
Who will follow suite next??

[ombugge]

Not everybody is scared sh*tless of the Trump tariffs and port dues:

OOCL signs $3bn boxship order - Splash247

The order boosts COSCO’s newbuilding pipeline from 19 vessels and 352,000 teu to 33 ships and 611,000 teu, according to Alphaliner data.
For the whole COSCO Group, the orderbook, which also includes 24,000 teu methanol dual-fuel series, now stands at 64 ships and 1.11m teu, second only to Swiss-based MSC and France’s CMA CGM, with 2.13m teu and 1.55m teu, respectively.

Nor does everybody think that the USD is the only trading currency that can be trusted in international transactions:

Seaspan books six containership newbuilds in China - Splash247

No value has been revealed for the shipbuilding contract that was concluded in renminbi rather than US dollars, and detailed vessel specifications have yet to be revealed.

Seaspan is the world’s largest containership lessor with a fleet of 188 vessels, excluding newbuildings, which have now reached 41 confirmed units.

Alphaliner said the odds are that the 10,000 teu series have already been backed by a long-term charter deal with one of the box carriers.

PS> These two orders represent more commercial ships over 1000 GT then has been built at US yard in at least the last decade.