Category: Sea

With a 3-4 month delay for car and truck RoRo (PCTC/PCC) services, automotive clients have looked to container shipping to provide an effective alternative transport solution, that also turns out to be much better for the environment. As the automotive industry emerged from the Covid pandemic,... Read more

The cancellation of multiple October sailings from Asia to Europe is an attempt by the carriers to push capacity down and raise rates, but if they fail, they may not have another opportunity to significantly raise prices before Chinese New Year, next February.  Container shipping lines ac... Read more

Unpredictable weather patterns and drought for most of 2023 have driven the Panama Canal Authority to impose numerous draft restrictions, reducing vessel transit numbers, and cutting vessel booking slots for lock usage, due to low water levels. The Panama Canal consists of the man-made lakes o... Read more

The container shipping lines’ GRIs seem to be sticking as spot rates climb above long-term prices on key routes from China. General Rate Increases (GRIs) have been a persistent battleground since April this year, as carriers struggle to tackle the supply-demand dynamic and recover sea freigh... Read more

Maersk took a sea fright market struggling with excess capacity by surprise a fortnight ago, when it announced its intention to impose a 49% freight all kinds (FAK) general rate increase (GRI) on the 1st August 2023. The carrier said that to continue offering a broad portfolio of high-quality ... Read more

The rapidity of the collapse in air and sea freight rates has given carriers the same level of trauma and shock experienced by shippers when freight rates exploded in  2021 and while the turnabout in the market was anticipated, its intensity and extent is far greater than expected, with ship... Read more

As Chinese car exports continue to rise and British car manufacturing continues its resurgence, orders for car and truck RoRo (PCTC) vessels are the highest since 2008. During the pandemic many PCTCs were scrapped and few built, as working from home depressed vehicle demand, but rising Chinese... Read more

After almost 13 months of negotiation and agreement on key issues, it would appear that some ILWU members’ patience has run out, as industrial actions shut down or severely impacted operations at the ports of Los Angeles, Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle and Hueneme last week. Reports in US trade pr... Read more

Last year the shipping analyst Drewry’s forecast that the container shipping lines earnings would be down 64% for 2023, but added that there were strategic choices available to the carriers, to protect their revenues, with slow steaming a proven method of removing capacity, to protect rates and... Read more

Specialised RoRo car and truck carriers are facing multiple challenges, which are causing congestion and delays at ports in Europe, China, South Africa, the US and Australia. Driver shortages in the UK and Europe mean that some importers struggle to collect their cargoes from ports as quickly ... Read more

Over 200 million shipping containers are transported globally every year, with the vast majority moving through different climate zones, which can create condensation in the container and lead to many kinds of damage.  Considerable temperature fluctuations can occur inside freight contain... Read more

European importers from Asia are nervously watching developments in the US, as transpacific carriers succeed in implementing GRIs, increasing shipping rates to the West Coast, in a move that may be repeated on the Asia to Europe trade lane. The Xeneta Asia-US West Coast index increased 39% las... Read more