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Container Traffic News

26 Jan 2024

Freight Through Suez Canal Down 45% Amid Houthi Attacks

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

Freight going through the Suez Canal has dropped by 45% in the two months since attacks by Yemen's Houthis led shipping groups to divert freight, disrupting already strained maritime trading routes, according to UN agency UNCTAD.UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which supports developing countries in global trade, warned of risks of higher inflation, uncertainty of food security and increased greenhouse gas emissions.Shipping companies have diverted ships from the Red Sea since the Iran-aligned Houthi movement…

14 Jan 2024

Tesla, Volvo Car Pause Output as Red Sea Shipping Crisis Deepens

© Björn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

Automakers Tesla and Geely-owned Volvo Car said they were suspending some production in Europe due to a shortage of components, the first clear sign that attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are hitting manufacturers in the region.The United States and Britain launched a series of strikes on Yemen on Thursday, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia whose attacks on international shipping have disrupted one of the world's most important shipping routes.Container shipping rates jumped…

24 Apr 2023

Port of Rotterdam Traffic Drops Slightly as Inflation Weighs

©Sten van Houwelingen/AdobeStock

Throughput in the port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest sea port, fell 1.5% in the first quarter as high inflation slowed down container traffic, the port's operator said on Monday."Especially in the container segment, we faced a decline in volumes due to high inflation and a weakening economy," port CEO Allard Castelein said in a statement."Results in the other segments mainly show growth and confirm that dependence on Russian energy flows has been further reduced in line with…

09 Jan 2023

Middle East Ship Repair Yards Remain Center Stage

Asyad Dry Dock in Duqm, Oman, was previously Oman Drydock Company. Its new name reflects its ownership by Oman shipping and logistics group, Asyad. Image courtesy Asyad Dry Dock

In the 45 years since the Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard (ASRY) opened on reclaimed land in Bahrain, the Middle East has become one of the world’s ship repair hotspots. A broad range of shipyards now service both regional and global markets.Regional yards have a ready market, with hundreds of offshore rigs working across the region together with the service ships that support them. Then there are thousands of tankers and gas carriers that arrive each year to load energy cargoes for far-flung destinations.

21 Oct 2022

Europe's Largest Port Sees Throughput Nearly Flat in 2022; LNG, Coal Rise

©Port of Rotterdam

Throughput volumes for Europe's largest port of Rotterdam have risen 0.3% to 351 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2022, officials said on Friday, as strong rises in coal and LNG offset the loss of container traffic with Russia.Such traffic, which had made up around 8% of Rotterdam's total in recent years, had "practically stopped", they said, while LNG and coal replaced Russian energy sources such as natural gas that would have come to Europe by pipeline."The total volume makes it seem as if it is business as usual in the port…

04 Aug 2022

Inside the St. Lawrence Seaway's Growing Economic Importance

© Joe / Adobe Stock

The St. Lawrence Seaway is made up of a broad network of interconnected infrastructures. Channels, canals, port facilities and fleets illustrate the connections between transportation equipment, industrial production and the artificial, human-made environment.This valuable infrastructure represents significant capital investments that have already been amortized. The maintenance, modernization and adaptation of the sea-river network make it possible to meet the demands for capacity, fluidity and reliability imposed by the transport industry.From their position as supply chain nodes, the St.

26 Jul 2022

Port Report: Rotterdam Throughput Stays Strong Despite Russia Decline

NYK LINE container ship loaded by gantry cranes in the Port of Rotterdam. Copyright VanderWolf Images/AdobeStock

The volume of total cargo throughput in the port of Rotterdam was 0.8% higher in the first half of the year (233.5 million tonnes) than in the same period in 2021 (231.6 million tonnes). In many segments, the war in Ukraine led to significant changes. For example, imports of both LNG and coal rose very sharply as an alternative to reduced European imports of Russian gas by pipeline. The throughput of crude oil increased, with oil products falling off. Throughput of iron ore, agricultural…

22 Dec 2021

Port of Rotterdam Expects Container Traffic to Remain High in 2022

© creativenature.nl / Adobe Stock

Container traffic at the Port of Rotterdam has reached a record level this year and is expected to be high again in 2022, Europe's largest sea port said on Wednesday.The port said that it had received 15 million containers this year up until Wednesday, marking the first time a European port had reached that level.Container freight, measured in the equivalent of twenty-foot long containers (TEU), has increased at least 5% in 2021 from last year, when transport was heavily disrupted…

11 Nov 2021

Congestion at Port of Rotterdam Seen Persisting Through 2022

© Tjeerd / Adobe Stock

Congestion and bottlenecks in moving container traffic through the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest, are likely to persist through 2022, port officials said on Thursday, potentially weighing on economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.Although throughput volume at the port is now above 2019 levels, it is being constrained by various logistical challenges the port is seeking to address, the officials told a news briefing.They said the highest immediate priority was improving schedule reliability…

08 Apr 2021

Global Supply Lines Struggle to Clear Container Backlog After Suez Chaos

(Photo: Port of Rotterdam)

A backlog of container ships carrying consumer goods has grown in some key strategic ports after a near week-long blockage in the Suez Canal, adding to ongoing disruptions to global trade, industry sources say.Dozens of container ships were stuck when the 400-metre-long (430-yard) Ever Given ran aground in the canal on March 23, with specialist rescue teams taking almost a week to free the vessel.The suspension of sailings through the waterway left shipping companies - including container lines - with millions of dollars in extra costs…

06 Apr 2021

Fact Check: Ever Given is Not Loaded with Nuclear Weapons

(Photo: Suez Canal Authority)

A social media post has falsely claimed the Ever Given ship that blocked the Suez Canal is carrying nuclear weapons. There is no evidence to support this – and Evergreen Line, the company leasing the vessel, told Reuters the allegation is false. The original post has now been removed from Facebook; however, other accounts have shared a screenshot. It claims information has been leaked in the Netherlands that the “EVERGREEN was loaded with WEAPONS and NUKES”. Comments left underneath suggest some users believe the claim to be true. “This is getting deep. More tentacles than an octopus.

26 Mar 2021

Suez Canal Blockage Adds Strain to Global Supply Chains

(Photo: Suez Canal Authority)

A stuck container vessel in the Suez Canal, which has blocked the flow of goods through the narrow channel, will add strain to global supply chains already stretched by rebounding economic activity and tight shipping container supplies, analysts said on Friday.The 400-metres long Ever Given container vessel has been stuck in the canal since Tuesday, suspending traffic of containers transporting goods, parts and equipment through the shortest sea link between Europe and Asia.The…

15 Oct 2020

MARAD Awards $220 Mln in Port Infrastructure Grants

© Stuart Westmorland, Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock

More than $220 million in discretionary grant funding has been awarded to improve U.S. port facilities in 16 states and territories through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced Thursday.“This $220 million in federal grants will improve America’s ports with nearly half the projects are located in Opportunity Zones, which were established to revitalize economically distressed communities,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L.

12 Jun 2020

Cuba Cancels Economic Fair as Imports Plummet

© EGT / Adobe Stock

Cash-strapped Cuba has canceled its annual international trade and investment fair slated for November due to the pandemic, state-run media reported on Friday, even as fallout from the novel coronavirus hammers revenues and imports.Container traffic at the port of Mariel, responsible for 90% of containers entering the country, was down between 20% and 25% through May, compared with the same period last year, according to a shipping source with access to the data.Cuba does not reveal key economic information in a timely manner…

12 Jun 2020

Market in Focus: Containershipping

© aerial-drone/AdobeStock

The only orders to be placed since the beginning of the year are from OOCL and Great Horse China for a combination of 7 ULCV’s ranging in size. This is a drop of 86% compared to this time last year and can only be due to the Covid-19 outbreak.As the global lockdown intensified through March, rates and values across all sizes fell. We have seen the larger 8,500 TEU tonnage earnings fall by c.40% since the start of the year which has bought values down a considerable amount. Container traffic out of the East picked up from the end of March as the situation in Asia…

06 May 2020

China Exports, Imports Set to Plummet

© Alexey Lesik / Adobe Stock

China’s exports and imports are expected to record double-digit declines in April after a tentative recovery in March as the coronavirus pandemic batters global demand and disrupts manufacturing supply chains, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.The pessimistic projections reinforce concerns that the collapse in global demand will restrain the recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy as it gets back on its feet after weeks of paralysis due to the virus outbreak.Shipments out of China are likely to have fallen 15.7% in April from a year earlier…

15 Nov 2019

Maersk: Container Outlook Uncertain

© Gudellaphoto / Adobe Stock

A.P.

05 Nov 2019

Maritime History & the Panama Canal

Grace Lines COLOMBIA transit of Panama Canal. Source: U.S.Merchant Marine Academy Maritime Museum.

The Panama Canal is a strategic crossroads for maritime traffic, and is arguably one of the most important maritime developments in the past century. Here we take a deeper dive into the history behind that famous strip of waterway.The present canal, which saw its first vessel transits in 1914, along with possible alternatives through Nicaragua and Mexico, had actually been on the minds of merchants, explorers and military/political strategists since the Age of Exploration in early 1500’s.

04 Nov 2019

Gothenburg Port Reports Steady Rise

The Swedish container market had a slight downturn during H1 2019, with a 1% fall, but the Port of Gothenburg has reported a steady rise in both market share and volume.Between January and September this year, the figure stood at four per cent, due largely to continued influx of hinterland rail volumes at the port.Container traffic continues to grow at the Port of Gothenburg following a downturn in 2016-2017. The recovery was particularly noticeable in 2018 with road-based traffic from western Sweden and its hinterland gradually returning to the Port of Gothenburg.The trend continued into 2019, attributable in the main to higher volumes from the rest of Sweden.

11 Oct 2019

SHORTSEA SHIPPING: All the Right Moves (Finally)

The Baton Rouge-NOLA container on barge service / (CREDIT: Port of New Orleans)

Marine Highways Gain Traction in the Intermodal Supply Chain.In the United States, landside infrastructure is at a crisis point. Congestion at the big hub ports, exacerbated by imperfect intermodal interfaces with surface transport serving cargo hinterlands is at the heart of the matter. As politicians bicker over a possible infrastructure package, the Highway Trust Fund, funded by taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, has continued its downward journey towards further deficits (now $144 billion). And, where countless U.S.

10 Oct 2019

DP World Becomes a Full Logistics Operator in Peru

DP World, a Dubai-based global port operator, announced that it has expanded its business in Peru into a fully-integrated maritime and logistics operation.It has completed the development of the first phase of the deepwater port of Posorja in Ecuador for around $538 million. The whole project is estimated to cost around $1.2 billion.The development of the port by DP World will make Ecuador a trade and logistics hub for South America’s west coast. It will also see large container ships with capabilities exceeding 10, 000 twenty-foot equivalent (teu) arriving at the port of Posorja.Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World…

22 Aug 2019

Azerbaijan Launches Feeder Service in Black Sea

The Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) will launch a test voyage of a feeder vessel along the Black Sea container route Batumi-Constanta by September 20.The vessel will sail every 10 days (3 times a month). If cargo volumes increase, the growth in the number of vessels and the regularity of sailings on the line is also expected.Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, hosted  general meeting of an association of legal entities – the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor International Association.Rauf Valiyev, chairman of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), as well as representatives of railway and sea transport companies from Georgia…

16 Aug 2019

Port of Hamburg Reports Strong Growth in H1

Germany’s largest universal port Port of Hamburg remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1% advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019."Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling," said a press release from the third-busiest port in Europe.The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons.The 7.5 percent increase in container handling to 4.7 million TEU is primarily attributable to the four new liner services that have linked the Hanseatic City with ports in the USA…

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