Global Cargo Logjam Deepens
Amazon seller Bernie Thompson shifted half of his production out of China to reduce his business risks and still found himself in the crosshairs of logistical chaos besetting the movement of goods around the globe.A surge in demand for furniture, exercise equipment and other goods for shoppers sheltering at home in a worsening COVID-19 pandemic has upended normal trade flows.That has stranded empty cargo containers in the wrong places, spawning bottlenecks that now stretch from factories to seaports.
Maersk Line Shifts Asia HQ from Singapore to Hong Kong
As part of the organisational changes announced last year, Maersk Line has shifted its Asia head office to Hong Kong from Singapore, reducing the number of regional offices to seven from eight. Maersk's two Asia regions, Asia Pacific and North Asia (China, Korea and Japan), have now become one. Prior to this merger, Hong Kong has already served as its North Asia headquarters since 2008. Following the merger, Maersk's Singapore operations will become a country cluster office that will oversee its Southeast Asian operations, while its Hong Kong office will serve as the headquarters of its combined Asia-Pacific operations. The HQ for the new Asia/Pacific region in Hong Kong will be headed by Robert van Trooijen.
Maersk Predicts Container Traffic Demand Growth
As freight rates are expected to continue to decline due to oversupply, the container shipping demand is expected to grow 3-5% this year, according to Lars Mikael Jensen, chief executive of Asia Pacific region at Maersk Line. He said supply growth as ships ordered several years ago are delivered is anticipated at 5-7%. "It is still a healthy growth and obviously differing from trade to trade," Jensen told Seatrade Global referring to the growth in demand. The average revenue per box is declining amid the rate fluctuations seen in some trades, due mainly to the supply-demand situation, putting pressure on shipping lines to reduce the cost on a per box basis of transport.
Maersk, Horizon End TP1 Slot Charter Agreement
The slot charter agreement between Horizon Lines and Maersk Line on the Trans-Pacific 1 (TP1) service will cease in December 2010. This weekly service currently calls Yantian, Xiamen, Kaohsiuing, Los Angeles, Oakland, Honolulu and Guam. Horizon Lines operates five vessels in this service. Maersk Line has been utilizing the entire 1100 FFE capacity eastbound, and uses a small amount of space on the westbound rotation. Empty westbound Maersk Line containers are utilized by Horizon Lines for their West Coast customers to ship cargo to Hawaii and Guam. "Maersk Line is carefully watching market developments and reviewing customer requirements. Once these are made clear we will release a plan designed to replace TP1 capacity.
