30 Jan 2023

Shipping Alliances

  The 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 […]

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18 Jan 2023

Airfreight rates still tumbling as soft market sparks early CNY factory closures

  With factories already closing in China, ahead of next week’s new year holiday, airfreight rates on major routes have continued to decline. One source reported that factories were closing early: in part, because some staff did not get a holiday last year owing to Covid lockdowns, partly because of new Covid cases and also […]

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18 Jan 2023

High Supply-Chain Costs are Receding; Tracking Inventory on the Shelf

The WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer, Suzanne Kapner and Nick Timiraos report the trends on store shelves may be another sign that inflation is starting to turn a corner. Many companies raised their prices substantially last year to offset higher fuel costs and higher prices for ingredients, parts and labor. Now, some of those costs are coming […]

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15 Jan 2023

Overcapacity Could Start Container Price War

    A slowdown in production typically takes place in the period around the Chinese Lunar New Year (CNY) with shipping lines blanking sailings to balance supply with demand. Yet, despite a market faced with stagnated demand growth and declining freight rates, carriers have not acted to reduce additional capacity during CNY 2023. Sea-Intelligence data […]

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15 Jan 2023

Weak Peak Season Shipping Demand Creates Uncertainty

Booking levels are showing no signs of increasing through the peak shipping period. Having moved up shipping schedules and increasing inventories in response to supply chain disruptions, U.S. and European businesses remain well-stocked with goods this year. Container Trade Statistics (CTS) data shows the demand collapse escalated in October. In a LinkedIn post, Lars Jensen, […]

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15 Jan 2023

Falling Demand Points to Unlikely Air Freight Peak Season

  According to CLIVE Data Services, air cargo volumes have declined -8% year-on-year, for an eighth consecutive month in October. The market outlook “remains uncertain” with “no indication there will be a peak” during the traditional Christmas peak weeks, said CLIVE. The drop in demand, measured in chargeable weight, stayed -3% below the pre-pandemic level […]

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