Retail Goods News

U.S. imports of goods in ocean shipping containers in December fell to levels approaching those last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report said on Tuesday.Demand for kitchen appliances, furniture, big-screen TVs, apparel and other retail goods softened late last year as record inflation bit into disposable income and consumers shifted spending back to travel and other previously restricted activities.December 2022 U.S. container import volume topped 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to Descartes Systems Group.

Prices in the most volatile segment of ocean shipping are collapsing, but top retailers like Walmart and Home Depot should not expect relief until the spring contract renegotiation season, industry experts said.Spot rates, which cover anywhere from 10% to 40% of ocean container shipments and are considered a key indicator of the industry's health, are in free fall as recession looms and the pandemic-fueled U.S. import bubble deflates.The cost to send a container from Asia to the United States on the demand-sensitive spot market has tumbled more than 80% from its September peak above $20…

Efforts to speed up the movement of goods around the world have yet to solve the supply chain bottlenecks caused by surging demand for retail goods and pandemic-related lockdowns, the latest shipping data shows.Delays at U.S. major ports have been particularly severe, but knock-on effects have also been felt around the world.This week's Lunar New Year holiday in China and across Asia is also expected to aggravate delays.The journey time from China's northern Dalian port to the…

Pakistan is working to boost the capacity of its shipping fleet to draw on its strategic geographical position and help tackle the effects of a global supply chain crisis, the country’s maritime minister told Reuters.Pakistan has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) and three major ports, including Karachi. It is two days sailing time from destinations in Africa and the Middle East and its western shoreline is close to the Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint.A surge in…

Global supply chain disruption is changing cargo flows coming into Britain and smaller ports such as Liverpool are benefiting as suppliers look for other ways to route cargoes and minimize disruptions, Liverpool port's operator said.Major bottlenecks have formed across the globe in recent months due to a surge in demand for retail goods from people stuck at home under pandemic-related lockdowns and logjams impacting the supply of container ships and boxes to transport cargo.A shortage of truckers has added to difficulties especially in Britain…

The world faces "very prolonged" disruptions to shipping cargo flows, an executive at leading ports operator ICTSI said, as logistical headaches such as truck shortages weigh on backed-up supply chains and rebounding trade drives up volume.Major bottlenecks have formed across the globe in recent months due to a surge in demand for retail goods from people stuck at home under pandemic-related lockdowns and logjams impacting the supply of container ships and boxes to transport cargo.The situation has been particularly severe in major retail markets such as the United States…

Amazon.com Inc and IKEA are among commercial users of container shipping that will opt for zero-carbon marine fuels by 2040 in a new initiative aimed at speeding up decarbonization in the maritime sector, executives said on Tuesday.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions and the sector is under growing scrutiny to become cleaner.The initiative, which was organized by the non-profit Aspen Institute and has nine signatories so far also including Unilever and Michelin…

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…

The stranding of a container ship in the Suez Canal has created disruptions in the global shipping industry that could take weeks and possibly months to clear, top container shipping lines said.Around 30% of the world’s shipping container volume - including goods like sofas, consumer electronics, apparel and shoes - moves through the 193 km (120 miles) Suez Canal daily. Empty containers, which Asian factories need to ship goods, are also caught up in the backlog.“Even when the canal gets reopened…

The Suez Canal stepped up efforts on Friday to free a giant container ship blocking the vital trade waterway that has sent shipping rates for oil product tankers soaring and disrupted the global supply chains for everything from grains to baby clothes.Shipping rates for oil product tankers have nearly doubled after the 400 meter long Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, ran aground in the canal on Tuesday.Efforts to free the vessel may take weeks and be complicated by unstable weather conditions…

Dozens of ships carrying everything from oil to consumer goods have been delayed by the grounding of a vessel in the Suez Canal, and companies may have to reroute cargoes around Africa if the blockage extends beyond 24 hours, shipping sources said.Efforts were underway on Wednesday to refloat the 400-meter, 224,000-tonne Ever Given, which got stranded on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm.Shipping sources say the grounding has disrupted regular voyages through the Canal…

The shortest shipping route from Europe to Asia remained blocked on Wednesday as 10 tug boats struggled to free one of the world's largest container ships after it ran aground in the Suez Canal.The 400-metre, 224,000-tonne Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.About 30% of global container shipping volumes pass through the canal each day, carrying everything from fuel to consumer goods.

The $1 trillion container shipping industry is in a slowdown. Literally.Some shipping lines, whose retail customers are being hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, are reducing sailing speeds and taking longer routes around Africa, avoiding Suez canal passage fees, according to the companies and ship-tracking specialists.Many are also cutting down the number of voyages and providing short-term storage for clients as the industry, which includes heavyweights like Maersk, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd…

Dueling tariffs raise fears of long A U.S.-China trade fight resulting in duties on $34 billion worth of each other's imports was seen dragging on for a potentially prolonged period, as Washington and Beijing flexed their muscles with no sign of negotiations to ease tensions.Friday marked the start of the U.S. duties that were promptly met with retribution by China, as Beijing accused the United States of triggering the "largest-scale trade war."The escalating fight between the…

Peel Ports Group has completed the acquisition of Great Yarmouth Port Company Limited (GYPC) from International Port Holdings for an undisclosed sum. GYPC is well established as the leading UK port servicing the UK sector of the Southern North Sea offshore oil and gas industry and has other activities in regional grain, aggregate and other bulk and general cargoes. In its last annual accounts, it reported revenue of £10.9m and an operating profit of £4.5m. It currently employs approximately 65 employees all of whom are located at Great Yarmouth. Mark Whitworth, Chief Executive of Peel Ports said: “GYPC will complement Peel Ports core ports business by providing both geographical and commercial diversification. It is a very welcome addition to our business portfolio.

Peel Ports, one of Britain's largest port operators, expects to withstand the container shipping slump with a bold project aimed at attracting cargo to Liverpool away from southern gateways, its chief executive said. The container market, which ships retail goods from iPhones to designer clothes and food products, has been hit hard by a slowdown in demand for goods from Asia, especially China. The Baltic exchange's main sea freight index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk commodities such as coal, has fallen to the lowest level since data is available on the China slowdown. Peel Ports, which competes with Associated British Ports…

Kuwait-headquartered United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) said that marked drop in Asian imports to Europe, made worse by a strong dollar, has heaped pain on container lines already struggling with massive over capacity, reports Reuters. Jorn Hinge, president and chief executive of UASC stated that the container market, which ships retail goods from IPhones to designer clothes and food products, has been hit by a slowdown in demand for goods from Asia, especially China. That has pushed competition into the South American market, but Brazil's recession has hurt that region too. The world's number one and number three players Maersk Line and CMA CGM have both reported a slide in third quarter net profit.

Because of demand, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (CCPA) is doubling the frequency of its service between Port of Cleveland and the Port of Antwerp this year. A report in AP says, so far this shipping season, not only have the number of calls increased, but so has the amount of cargo. It has tripled since last year. It was a novel concept when the CCPA came up with the idea last year. Local businesses could have their products loaded on a ship in the Port of Cleveland and send them directly to Europe. It has been smooth sailing for the Cleveland-Europe Express (CEE). The CEE handles an assortment of containerized cargo including scrap metal, foodstuffs, retail goods, and even machinery.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) informs it has urged maritime management and the union representing dockworkers along the U.S. West Coast ports to expedite pending contract negotiations and reach agreement on a new deal well in advance of the expiration of the current contract this summer. NRF believes expedited negotiations would strengthen the supply chain and provide shippers and retailers the certainty they need to utilize the West Coast ports during the holiday shipping period, which begins in July.

Part of regional boom in third-party logistics providers. Matson Logistics, a leading provider of multimodal transportation, warehousing, and distribution services throughout North America, has established new distribution center space in Savannah. “Our new operation expands on our ability to move retail goods in through the Port of Savannah,” said Mark Ferzacca, assistant vice president of sales for Matson Logistics Warehousing. Matson has contracted for 65,000 square feet, with the ability to increase to 125,000 square feet.

Cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports fell again in October, and 2008 is now expected to be the slowest year since 2004 as the downturn in the nation’s economy continues, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released on Nov. 7 by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight. Volume is projected to total 15.3 million Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units for the year, compared with 16.5 million TEU in 2007. That would be a decline of 7.1 percent and the lowest total since 2004, when 14 million TEU moved through the ports. The estimate is down from the 15.43 million projected a month ago, which would have been a 6.5 percent decline from 2007 and the lowest number since 2005’s 15.4 million TEU. One TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent.