The drop in the cost of shipping containers will help reduce price pressures, Jonathan Ostry, a professor at Georgetown University and the former acting director of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Asia and Pacific department wrote in a post on the IMF’s website. In a previous IMF study by Ostry and four colleagues examining the […]
Read MoreThe two largest global container lines have mutually agreed to end their vessel-sharing partnership in January 2025. A joint statement by Vincent Clerc, CEO of A. P. Moller – Maersk, and Soren Toft, CEO of MSC, said that discontinuing the vessel-sharing alliance would allow both companies to “pursue their individual strategies”. Consultant Drewry observed […]
Read MoreWhen Malcom McLean introduced the world to container shipping in 1956, it not only touched off a seismic shift in the way cargo was handled but also the equipment and infrastructure needed to support containerized operations. Loading and unloading cargo from ships piece by piece in breakbulk operations, a process that could take days and […]
Read MoreLong-stalled West Coast port labor talks are showing no signs of progress, according to people familiar with the negotiations, extending uncertainty for U.S. retailers who rely on the coast to import goods from Asia. Shipping industry and Biden administration officials had hoped the talks, which began in May, would conclude last fall. But, people familiar […]
Read MoreAir Freight rates continue to decline on major routes with exception of the China-U.S. route which has grown 10%, the TAC Index shows. This development comes on the heels of early factory closures in China as the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday nears but also in part because of new COVID cases and weak […]
Read MoreInternational trade growth will not match the global economic pace over most of the next decade, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Trade patters will change even as the war in Ukraine is reshaping strategic alliances and altering the flow of cross-border commerce. World trade’s annual expansion rate […]
Read MoreA list of challenges including weaker demand, a competitive truck market and a shift in U.S. port activity away from the West Coast to East and Gulf ports that utilize shorter inland hauls, point to a challenging 2023 for rail intermodal, predicts FTR Transportation Intelligence. During a webinar, Todd Tranausky, FTR vice president for […]
Read MoreLeads U.S. exports as operations stabilize following pandemic-induced import surges The Port of Long Beach marked its second-busiest year on record by moving 9.13 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2022, allowing for a return to normal operations while once again serving as the nation’s leading export seaport. The Port ended 2022 with 9,133,657 TEUs moved, down 2.7% from 2021, […]
Read MoreTaking stock of developments in the maritime industry in 2022, one must be content: Every segment experienced a performance ranging from good to outstanding. From offshore to cruise ships and LNG vessels, shipping markets were overall profitable in 2022, in stark contrast to extremely poor markets of a couple of years earlier. Everyone’s mind […]
Read MoreWith Chinese New Year starting Sunday, and manufacturing and logistics operations virtually shut down there for two weeks, experts say retail inventory levels are in a good place given recent gluts and proactive restocks, but the weeks following will bear watching and might bring issues. System shutdowns related to Chinese New Year, which runs from […]
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