Transpacific Trade News

French shipping group CMA CGM on Thursday announced it has appointed Peter Levesque to take over as president of CMA CGM America and American President Lines (APL) upon Ed Aldridge's retirement on December 6.Levesque is an international global supply chain executive with more than 30 years of industry leadership experience, who until 2021 was president of Ports America Group. Prior to Ports America, he spent 25 years based in Hong Kong and held leadership positions in international transportation…

Shipping group CMA CGM has agreed to acquire the Fenix Marine Services (FMS) container terminal at the port of Los Angeles in a deal worth around $2 billion that will extend its presence in a crucial hub for transpacific trade.CMA CGM currently has a 10% stake in FMS and it is to buy the remaining 90% from investment fund EQT Infrastructure III on the basis of an enterprise value of $2.3 billion, CMA CGM and EQT said on Wednesday.France-based CMA CGM, one of the world's largest container shipping lines, expects to pay out around $1.8 billion for the 90% stake and will finance the deal from its

The trade war continues to rage in the shade of the headline-grabbing supply chain disruptions. The tariffs are still in place and are unlikely to go anywhere despite the change of administration in the United States. While higher exports from the US to China under the Phase One Agreement have added volumes for tanker and dry bulk shipping, containerized imports to the US have shifted from China to other countries in the region. Despite an increase in exports, the commitments made in the Phase One Agreement are a long way off and unlikely to be met…

As ports and hinterland transport struggle to keep up, delays at ports are soaking up capacity leading to frustration on the shippers’ side and leaving carriers struggling to keep up all the while making record profits, shipping organization BIMCO reports.Drivers of demand and freight ratesThe container shipping market has frequently appeared in the headlines over the summer as freight rates and port congestion levels continue to reach record highs. Port closures caused by COVID…

The year 2021 has started in much the same way as 2020 ended for U.S. container imports; import volumes are still surging. As per usual seasonality, volumes came down a little in January and February, though this year the drop wasn’t as steep as usual, says shipping organization BIMCO. Imports by the two San Pedro Bay ports in California rose 27.8% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2020. Although last year’s comparison is low due to the COVID-19 impact…

In the full year of 2020, global container shipping volumes fell by 1.2% compared with 2019, much less than feared even before the pandemic was first declared, and much recovered compared with the 6.8% drop recorded in the first six months of the year. Volumes in the second half of the year were up 4.2% from 2019. Much of this growth was concentrated on just a few trade lanes, with congestion and imbalances on these spilling out and causing disruption on other trades.BIMCO expects that 2021 will be even better for container shipping than 2020…

According to BIMCO, 40% of Phase One goal reached for US manufactured goods to ChinaExports from the US to China of the manufactured goods included in the Phase One agreement between the two countries reached $31.1 billion in the first nine months of the year. This is just 40% of the $78.4 billion commitment under the agreement.“BIMCO has always believed the targets were unachievable, but every additional volume shipped has been welcome, particularly when it comes to dry bulk and energy goods,” says Peter Sand, BMICO’s Chief Shipping Analyst.

Longtime Maersk executive Jack Mahoney has been named president and CEO of Westwood Shipping Lines, Inc., a Puyallup, Wash. based independent conbulk liner carrier in the north Transpacific trade. He succeeds Guy Stephenson who is retiring after 13 years in the role. Stephenson will continue in a support role as Executive Advisor/General Counsel.Mahoney’s recent posts with Maersk include three years as President of Maersk in Canada and, more recently, he has been Vice President of the Automotive Industry in Florham Park…

The coronavirus pandemic has shutdown much of the U.S. economy for months and even as parts of it reopen, the data is beginning to reveal the extent of the damage that has been done and a slow recovery is taking a tentative shape.The second estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter shows a 5% contraction from the previous quarter, and just 0.2% growth from the first quarter of 2019. With lockdown measures having only come into force in late March, the second quarter of the year will prove even more damaging for the U.S.

The ongoing trend of downward pressure on long-term contracted ocean freight rates appears to have been broken, or at least temporarily derailed, with marginal increases seen across the board in November.According to the latest XSI Public Indices report from Xeneta, which provides unique business intelligence based on real-time crowd-sourced data from the world’s leading shippers, global rates climbed by 0.9% over the last month. This disrupts a long-term pattern of decline that, with the exception of a sizable and unexpected rise in May, has been ongoing since Summer 2018.Oslo-based Xeneta’s XSI Public Indices report utilities over 110 million data points, covering over 160,000 port-to-port pairings, to provide unparalleled insight into the very latest market moves.

Container imports on both the US East Coast (USEC) and West Coast (USWC) had a strong year in 2018, growing 3.7% and 8% respectively in the first 11 months of the year compared to the same period in 2017.Record high levels of inbound laden containers were experienced on both coasts in October with the USWC at 1.09 million TEU and the USEC at 0.91 million TEU according to BIMCO’s own data.The first two months of 2018 saw the USWC coast’s laden imports increase 11.7% from the start of 2017, with the accumulated growth rate then stabilising to around 4% for the rest of the year.

A freight distribution center placing high-demand logistics capability inside a global trade gateway will soon take shape here. The Port of Oakland said today that work should begin this fall on a long-awaited Seaport Logistics Complex.The complex is envisioned as a cargo-handling campus that could change the trajectory of Port business. Currently a West Coast terminus for Transpacific trade vessels, Oakland could eventually double as a major freight distribution point.“This is our future,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “The Seaport Logistics Complex will give freight shippers the opportunity to manage international supply chains right next door to the rail yards and marine terminals where their cargo is transported.”CenterPoint Properties…

Despite moderating perishable seaborne trade growth, continued modal shift will sustain expansion in the containerised reefer trade and so support freight rate development, according to Drewry’s latest Reefer Shipping Annual Review and Forecast 2018/19 report, by global shipping consultancy Drewry.Global seaborne reefer trade continues to expand, posting a gain of over 5% in 2017 to 124 million tonnes, a big improvement on trend growth over the past 10 years of 3.6% a year. Underpinning this progress was strong growth in banana, meat and fish trades.Drewry estimates that containerised reefer traffic expanded by 8% in 2017, outpacing the growth in overall seaborne reefer trade.

Container shipping: Change required for higher ratesDemandThe growing imports of loaded containers into the U.S. East Coast (USEC) continues to be a focal point for the container shipping industry. Growing by 10.4 percent in Q1-2018, the first three months saw 215,000 TEU more entering the USEC than in Q1-2017. Exports grew by 55,000 TEU in the same time span, growing outbound loaded containers by 3.8 percent.This illustrates the constantly changing imbalance in U.S. foreign trade. For every five containers entering the USEC in 2013, four were exported.

As Canada’s second largest container port and North America’s fastest growing port for transpacific trade, the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia is committed to providing mariners with safe, efficient and productive port operations. To ensure the port operates safely and securely, rotating crews work day and night aboard the Charles Hays patrol boat, a vessel fitted with a full complement of FLIR thermal and Raymarine navigation technologies. The equipment includes two 12-inch Raymarine MFDs…

The outlook for global container carriers remains rocky at the outset of 2017, according to a new study by AlixPartners. Hanjin Shipping Co.’s bankruptcy in 2016 sent shock waves through the industry, while Brexit and the new U.S. administration’s policies threaten to inject further uncertainty into the future of global trade. These stances could reverse policies that have supported the growth of containerization since the 1950s. Going into the important pricing season, companies need to do everything they can to retain the higher rates recently seen.

Maersk Line introduces a new service – the AE7 – on the Asia-North Europe trade and a new service – the TP16 – on the Transpacific trade. The new services will enable MSC and Maersk Line to accommodate the incoming volumes from the recently announced slot purchase agreements with Hyundai Merchant Marine and Hamburg Süd. The two carriers will move cargo, but not operate vessels in the 2M network. “With these exciting product improvements we confirm our commitment to provide extensive direct coverage and best in class transit times to our customers in the Asia-Europe and Transpacific trades,” says Silvia Ding, Head of Trade in Maersk Line. “Our new slot agreements require that we increase our capacity.

Heavily indebted South Korean shipper Hyundai Merchant Marine Co Ltd (HMM) said on Sunday it has agreed with the 2M shipping alliance to form a cooperative relationship that falls short of full-fledged membership. Joining an alliance with major shipping firms was one of the conditions of a debt restructuring deal between Hyundai Merchant Marine and its creditors in May, and the company said on Sunday that the tie-up with 2M met that criteria. Its main creditor, the state-backed Korea Development Bank…

Service introduced in wake of Hanjin announcement and continues from Yantian. MSC’s Maple service is to resume on Friday 28th October, sailing from Yantian and including Vancouver in its full rotation. The service was first introduced in September on the Transpacific Trade, designed to assist shippers in the wake of the Hanjin announcement. Maple is an exclusive MSC provision, and since September has omitted three calls during the so-called ‘Golden Week’ period. It will now resume its full service with a rotation which sees MSC Rochelle departing Yantian on 28th October and calling Shanghai, Busan, Long Beach and Vancouver. MSC is committed to providing reliable service offerings to the trade…

The world’s largest shipping alliance 2M partners - Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co  (MSC) -  have been quick to offer shippers an alternate service on the transpacific trade in the wake of Hanjin Shipping’s collapse. The Partners are all set to  fill the gaps created by Korean owner’s receivership. However, there is controversy over legal force of the contract in which Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. (HMM) signed to join 2M, reports Business Korea. It has been found that HMM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Maersk Line and MSC in July to join the 2M alliance, not a typical contract that other companies sign to join an alliance. So, the MOU has less legal binding force than the contract.

Matson Logistics Supply Chain Services is expanding its less-than-container-load (LCL) capabilities by offering direct fast transit from China to the New York and New Jersey markets. The service is based on Matson’s China-Long Beach Express (CLX) service, which offers express Transpacific trade, and partners with JAD International for expedited coast-to-coast transport. “We listened to our clients’ needs and in collaboration with JAD International, we are proud to bring this premium service to the market,” said Jeffrey Ivinski, director of sales and marketing for Matson Logistics Supply Chain Services. “Matson created an alternative to costly air freight to the West Coast and now we are bringing expedited service to the important New York metro market.

Chemical tanker shipping freight rates are expected to remain firm over the medium term, thanks to rising production capacity in key exporting countries, according to the latest edition of the Chemical Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Since 2015, the US has started to export more and import less volume of liquid chemical products. US methanol capacity surged 77% in 2015 with the addition of around 3.5 million tonnes per year of new capacity. As a result, US methanol exports are starting to change the pattern of the long-haul chemical shipping trade. The volume of US exports to Northeast Asian and Europe rose 12% and 20% respectively last year. As a result, Drewry expects eastbound transatlantic freight rates in particular to rise over the medium term.

Swiss headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has announced two new services alled the ‘Lone Star Express’ which will operate between Asia and the US Gulf. This new service will become a new Gateway to/from the US Gulf in anticipation of increased demand. At the same time, MSC’s Everglades service will be renamed ‘Amberjack’ and restructured to include a call to New York, this change ensures both services will operate at optimum efficiency. All changes will be in effect from the first week of May 2016 (departing Asia). The Lone Star Express and Amberjack will continue to be supported by the America and Empire services currently in operation. MSC now provides four weekly services between Asia and the East Coast of the United States.