Consumer Products News

The maritime industry is often criticized as being slow to adopt new technologies. While ship building is an age-old industry, it is also varied: fishing, commercial, inland, marine construction, energy, passenger, recreation, defense, and the list goes on. Each sector serves a different purpose, and bespoke vessels fulfill different missions, operate in different environments, and are subject to different regulatory profiles. As a result, our industry abounds with unique solutions…

Shipping giant CMA CGM said on Thursday it would reduce container shipping rates for some common consumer products imported in France to support government steps to curb inflation.The group will from Aug. 1 reduced shipping rates by 500 euros ($520.10) per 40-foot container for consumer products imported by retailer customers in France, CMA CGM said in a statement.($1 = 0.9614 euros)(Reuters - Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Tassilo Hummel, Editing by Sybille de La Hamaide)

China and Russia have grown increasingly close in recent years, including as trading partners, a relationship that brings both opportunities and risks as Russia reels from tough new sanctions led by the West in response to its invasion of Ukraine.Total trade between China and Russia jumped 35.9% last year to a record $146.9 billion, according to Chinese customs data, with Russia serving as a major source of oil, gas, coal and agriculture commodities, running a trade surplus with China.Since sanctions were imposed in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea…

The U.S. trade deficit surged to a record high in 2021 as imports increased sharply amid the restocking of shelves by businesses to meet robust domestic demand.The sharp widening in the trade gap reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday mostly reflected a shift in spending towards goods from services during the COVID-19 pandemic. With businesses eager to rebuild depleted inventories against the backdrop of stretched global supply chains, the deficit is unlikely to shrink much this year…

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home."We are forgotten and taken for granted," he says of the plight facing tens of thousands of seafarers like him, stranded at sea as the Delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc on shore."People don't know how their supermarkets are stocked up."Singh and most of his 20-strong crew have criss-crossed the globe on an exhausting odyssey: from India to the United States then on to China…

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home."We are forgotten and taken for granted," he says of the plight facing tens of thousands of seafarers like him, stranded at sea as the Delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc on shore."People don't know how their supermarkets are stocked up."Singh and most of his 20-strong crew have criss-crossed the globe on an exhausting odyssey: from India to the United States then on to China…

The crew change crisis that has been plaguing the maritime industry for more than a year and a half is raging on and only getting worse, data from 10 of the world's top ship managers suggests.The number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has continued rising from 7.2% to 8.8% in the last month, and the number of seafarers onboard vessels for over 11 months has risen from 0.4% to 1%, according to the latest monthly Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator.The…

Marine shipping drives 90% of global trade, moving over 11 billion tonnes of containers, solid and liquid bulk cargo across the world’s seas annually. Almost all consumer products we buy — or the raw materials required to make them — arrive at Canadian ports via ship.Each year, Canadian port facilities handle about 340 million tonnes of goods, worth about $400 billion. Roughly 25% of Canadian exports and imports, by value, are transported by marine shipping.Despite their economic importance…

The Jones Act has no significant impact on the cost of living in Hawaii, according to a recent report produced by economists from Boston based Reeve & Associates (Reeve) and Hawaii based TZ Economics.“The Impact of the Jones Act on Hawaii” also found that freight rates in the U.S. mainland-Hawaii trade lane have declined in real terms over the last 10 years, while the Jones Act has delivered positive and substantial economic contributions, including job creation, new infrastructure investments…

The U.S. trade deficit fell for the first time in six years in 2019 as the White House’s trade war with China curbed the import bill, keeping the economy on a moderate growth path despite a slowdown in consumer spending and weak business investment.The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday also showed the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda decreased the flow of goods last year, with exports posting their first decline since 2016. President Donald Trump, who has dubbed himself “the tariff man…

Canadian National Railway (CN) has signed a deal to acquire the Winnipeg-based TransX Group of Companies, one of Canada’s largest and oldest transportation companies.“We are pleased to have concluded this important transaction that allows us to deepen our supply chain focus and to continue to offer the best services to our customers, from the first mile to the last mile. This transaction will support the safe and efficient movement of our customers’ goods to their end markets in a fast-growing consumer economy,” said JJ Ruest, President and Chief Executive Officer of CN.Mike Jones, Chief Operating Officer of The TransX Group of Companies said…

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has released the 2018 year-end statistics for cargo through the Port of Vancouver. The second consecutive year of record cargo volumes reflects Canada’s growing trade, said a press release.Overall cargo volume through Canada’s largest port reached a record high of 147 million tonnes, up 3.5 per cent from 2017, it said."One of the port’s biggest strengths continues to be the ability to accommodate the most diversified range of cargo of any port in North America. Sectors that experienced strong growth last year include containers, potash, canola products and barley, all of which hit new records in 2018," it added.In 2018, container volumes, measured in 20-foot equivalents or TEUs, increased by 4.4 per cent to a record 3.4 million TEUs.

Analysts forecast the global shipbuilding market to grow at a CAGR of over 2% during the 2019-2023 period.According to Technavio analysts, one of the key factors contributing to the growth of the global shipbuilding market is the increasing seaborne trading."In the last couple of decades, the shipping industry has recorded an increase in the total trade volume. Rapid industrialization and the liberalization of economies are the prominent factors propelling trade volumes between two countries," said the market research report.The increasing economic activities, such as foreign direct investments have heightened consumer purchasing power.

Chinese imports to U.S. ports rose more than expected in June, suggesting that some retailers moved up orders to insulate themselves from an intensifying trade war that threatens to send up costs on a growing number of consumer products.Retailers such as Walmart Inc and Amazon.com face uncertainty due to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods, and the jump in imports from the country was likely because of "pre-emptive buying in anticipation of the tariffs"…

China maintained solid export growth of 12.6 percent in May, slightly slower than in April, but still providing good news for Beijing's policymakers as they deal with tough trade negotiations with Washington.Imports also rose more than anticipated in May and at the fastest pace since January, with the data coming at a time when China has pledged to its trade partners - including the United States - that steps would be taken to increase imports.China, the world's largest exporter…

With a belief that innovation in shipping has fallen well behind other sectors, new entrant into the maritime industry Nisomar has launched a range of services for ship owners, operators, brokers, charterers and financial institutions. Nisomar said it has pioneered a method of collecting global shipping data and created proprietary technology, based upon technology that generates highly accurate business-critical data. The firm will derive insights from big data to offer analytics that support business decisions…

A lawyer for Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd , the failed South Korean container carrier, said on Thursday a U.S.-bound vessel was held "hostage" by disputes over payments, adding to the struggles in getting $14 billion of cargo off its ships stranded at sea. "There is no clear visibility yet on what will happen with this business," Hanjin lawyer Ilana Volkov said at a hearing, when asked by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood whether Hanjin was liquidating. Hanjin, the world's seventh-largest container line, filed for bankruptcy last month, leaving more than 100 ships and their cargo at sea and threatening to snarl U.S. freight traffic as the year-end shopping season approaches. Some ships chartered to Hanjin have been sold and more are up for sale.

The Port of New York & New Jersey, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has completed a $2.1 billion Main Navigation Channel Deepening Program in order to facilitate the next generation of larger containerships calling the port following the expansion of the Panama Canal. The Port of New York and New Jersey serves as the gateway to one of the most concentrated and affluent consumer markets in the world. The Main Navigation Channel Deepening Program creates a safe…

Independent compliance and testing organization Retlif Testing Laboratories announced it has expanded with a new location in Concord, North Carolina to answer a growing regional need for testing services. The new laboratory, established after two years of searching for an ideal location, will initially offer pre-compliance evaluation Electromagnetic Interference/Electromagnetic Compatibility services, including EMI, EMC, Lightning testing and Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). The EMI test standard for the Department of Defense is MIL-STD-461, while the EMI test standard for the Commercial Aviation Industry is RTCA DO-160. Other available services include ESS regulatory consulting and documentation, as well as extensive engineering services.

Gerard de Reuver has elected to step down as President of DSM Dyneema on August 1, 2015 after five years in the post, the company announced today. He will be succeeded by Golnar Motahari Pour, a German national with extensive global management experience. The transition will begin immediately, and be completed by the end of next month. As of August 1, 2015, Gerard will take on a new role in a corporate culture project, reporting to Dimitri de Vreeze, member of the DSM Managing Board. Gerard, a Dutch national, joined DSM in 2002 as Business Unit Director for Anti-Infectives.

Sultan of the Yogyakarta Sultanate in Indonesia Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X asked President Joko Widodo to reject the Chinese government bid to link the World Maritime Axis (Indonesia) with the Maritime Silk Road (China), reports Antara News. Chinese offer for cooperation in the Maritime Silk Road framework could make the Indonesian nation become consumers of their products, he said. "Maritime Silk Road from China is the logistics of the country's path to another country, therefore if their bid is accepted, then it would make Indonesia into China's consumer products forever," said Sri Sultan. Yogyakarta said that the Indonesian Archipelago Sea Lanes (ALKI) had so far always been the target of China, Australia and Singapore.

The CMA CGM Group last week received the largest vessel of its fleet, a 17,722 TEU containership CMA CGM Kerguelen, to be christened May 12 in Le Havre. CMA CGM Kerguelen measures 398 meters long and 54 meters wide, making it the largest container ship in the CMA CGM fleet. It has capacity for 17,722 twenty-foot equivalent containers. CMA CGM KERGUELEN will be positioned in the shipper’s French Asia Line, which links Europe to Asia. Thus, the ship will export consumer products (fruit…

The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security held a hearing on U.S. The hearing comes during a labor standoff between shipping companies and port workers that shut down 29 West Coast ports over the weekend. The ports have since resumed operations. "We need to explore the policy options to support port growth and future volumes of freight to keep goods moving," Chairman Deb Fischer (R-NE) said during the hearing.