Latest news with #LisaBaertlein
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Container ship owners swamped as US-China trade detente revives demand
By Lisa Baertlein, Farah Master and Casey Hall LOS ANGELES/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Container ship bookings for China-to-U.S. cargo have surged since the countries declared a 90-day truce on punitive tit-for-tat tariffs last weekend, operators said, spawning traffic jams at Chinese ports and factories that could take weeks to clear. U.S. importers of sneakers and sofas to construction supplies and auto parts are racing to get goods in before the deadline resets tariffs again, setting the stage for disruptions that recall the global transport quagmire during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cargo surge at major trade gateways like Shenzhen's Yantian Port, which handles more than a quarter of China's exports to the United States, has ship owners scrambling to coordinate berths and adjust vessel schedules. "The demand is so high that we can only serve customers who have made long-term contracts with us," a spokesperson for German container ship operator Hapag-Lloyd told Reuters. "We have hardly enough space for spontaneous bookings." Container-tracking software provider Vizion said average bookings for the seven days ended on Wednesday soared 277% to 21,530 20-foot equivalent units from the 5,709 TEU average for the week ended May 5. Owners of factories that make toys to holiday decor told Reuters they are booking previously frozen cargo headed to U.S. stores, including Walmart. Lalo, for example, which sells its baby furniture online and through retailers like Target and is among the companies that gave factories the green light to move their finished orders. "We had hundreds of thousands of units waiting to ship," said Lalo co-founder Michael Weider. "These products can now get on the water." "Everybody is very busy from my company, at my friend's companies," said Richard Lee, CEO of NCL Logistics, in China's southern metropolis of Shenzhen. "They are preparing a lot of cargo, a lot of products, to be shipped immediately from China to the U.S." SECOND TSUNAMI? The shipping surge will translate into a rush of arrivals at U.S. West Coast ports in the coming weeks. Still, industry experts, including the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles - the busiest U.S. seaport and No. 1 for ocean shipments from China, do not foresee a COVID-level tsunami of cargo. Rather, they project a large, but manageable wave. On Thursday, the off-contract spot rate from Shanghai to Los Angeles shot up 16% from the prior week to $3,136 per 40-foot container, according to data from maritime consultancy Drewry. That is less than half than in April 2024, but could jump sharply on June 1 to about $6,000 per container if ship owners push through rate increases. In the early days of the pandemic, as now, cargo demand spikes overwhelmed factories and container ships, kinking supply chains. Shipping and retail experts said 90 days is not enough time for most factories to fill new orders. Fewer slots are available on cargo ships because vessel owners had been culling China-to-U.S. voyages and schedules. Now, ocean carriers are "cancelling cancellations" of sailings, Drewry said. Demand, however, is markedly different this time. Trump's second-term tariffs have weakened U.S. retail sales, homebuilding and manufacturing - key drivers of container shipments. Moreover, many U.S. companies are sitting on inventory accumulated before Trump imposed tariffs on China and other countries. And nobody knows what import duties will be when the 90-day deadline expires in August. The Trump administration confirmed to Reuters that the U.S. rate would reset to 54%, assuming no agreement is reached by the deadline. HIGH ANXIETY Many retailers are prioritizing which products to order and ship, said Jessica Dankert, vice president of supply chain for the Retail Industry Leaders Association trade group, whose members include Home Depot, Gap and Dollar General. "It's still 30% at the end of the day," said Jamie Salter, CEO of Authentic Brands Group, referring to tariffs on China. Authentic Brands owns and licenses clothing brands including Reebok, Champion, and Forever 21. Some large suppliers to Detroit's Big Three automakers told Reuters that on customers' requests, they are flying in parts from China and stockpiling them. Others declined to add to inventories, saying they lacked the space and funds to do so. A Halloween goods exporter from the city of Yiwu in China, who gave her English name, Cecilia, said tariff increases have cut total orders in half this year and warned that prospective buyers are running out of time. "If you order now, you will have an anxious wait to see if it will be too late," she said. Jimmy Zollo, CEO at Joe and Bella, sells Chinese-made clothing for adults who have trouble dressing themselves due to arthritis, dementia or being in a wheelchair. He placed a new order with his supplier even though the 90-day window could close before he can take delivery. "We're hopeful that a new trade agreement is implemented, and the lowered tariffs do not expire," Zollo said.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Container ship owners swamped as US-China trade detente revives demand
By Lisa Baertlein, Farah Master and Casey Hall LOS ANGELES/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Container ship bookings for China-to-U.S. cargo have surged since the countries declared a 90-day truce on punitive tit-for-tat tariffs last weekend, operators said, spawning traffic jams at Chinese ports and factories that could take weeks to clear. U.S. importers of sneakers and sofas to construction supplies and auto parts are racing to get goods in before the deadline resets tariffs again, setting the stage for disruptions that recall the global transport quagmire during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cargo surge at major trade gateways like Shenzhen's Yantian Port, which handles more than a quarter of China's exports to the United States, has ship owners scrambling to coordinate berths and adjust vessel schedules. "The demand is so high that we can only serve customers who have made long-term contracts with us," a spokesperson for German container ship operator Hapag-Lloyd told Reuters. "We have hardly enough space for spontaneous bookings." Container-tracking software provider Vizion said average bookings for the seven days ended on Wednesday soared 277% to 21,530 20-foot equivalent units from the 5,709 TEU average for the week ended May 5. Owners of factories that make toys to holiday decor told Reuters they are booking previously frozen cargo headed to U.S. stores, including Walmart. Lalo, for example, which sells its baby furniture online and through retailers like Target and is among the companies that gave factories the green light to move their finished orders. "We had hundreds of thousands of units waiting to ship," said Lalo co-founder Michael Weider. "These products can now get on the water." "Everybody is very busy from my company, at my friend's companies," said Richard Lee, CEO of NCL Logistics, in China's southern metropolis of Shenzhen. "They are preparing a lot of cargo, a lot of products, to be shipped immediately from China to the U.S." SECOND TSUNAMI? The shipping surge will translate into a rush of arrivals at U.S. West Coast ports in the coming weeks. Still, industry experts, including the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles - the busiest U.S. seaport and No. 1 for ocean shipments from China, do not foresee a COVID-level tsunami of cargo. Rather, they project a large, but manageable wave. On Thursday, the off-contract spot rate from Shanghai to Los Angeles shot up 16% from the prior week to $3,136 per 40-foot container, according to data from maritime consultancy Drewry. That is less than half than in April 2024, but could jump sharply on June 1 to about $6,000 per container if ship owners push through rate increases. In the early days of the pandemic, as now, cargo demand spikes overwhelmed factories and container ships, kinking supply chains. Shipping and retail experts said 90 days is not enough time for most factories to fill new orders. Fewer slots are available on cargo ships because vessel owners had been culling China-to-U.S. voyages and schedules. Now, ocean carriers are "cancelling cancellations" of sailings, Drewry said. Demand, however, is markedly different this time. Trump's second-term tariffs have weakened U.S. retail sales, homebuilding and manufacturing - key drivers of container shipments. Moreover, many U.S. companies are sitting on inventory accumulated before Trump imposed tariffs on China and other countries. And nobody knows what import duties will be when the 90-day deadline expires in August. The Trump administration confirmed to Reuters that the U.S. rate would reset to 54%, assuming no agreement is reached by the deadline. HIGH ANXIETY Many retailers are prioritizing which products to order and ship, said Jessica Dankert, vice president of supply chain for the Retail Industry Leaders Association trade group, whose members include Home Depot, Gap and Dollar General. "It's still 30% at the end of the day," said Jamie Salter, CEO of Authentic Brands Group, referring to tariffs on China. Authentic Brands owns and licenses clothing brands including Reebok, Champion, and Forever 21. Some large suppliers to Detroit's Big Three automakers told Reuters that on customers' requests, they are flying in parts from China and stockpiling them. Others declined to add to inventories, saying they lacked the space and funds to do so. A Halloween goods exporter from the city of Yiwu in China, who gave her English name, Cecilia, said tariff increases have cut total orders in half this year and warned that prospective buyers are running out of time. "If you order now, you will have an anxious wait to see if it will be too late," she said. Jimmy Zollo, CEO at Joe and Bella, sells Chinese-made clothing for adults who have trouble dressing themselves due to arthritis, dementia or being in a wheelchair. He placed a new order with his supplier even though the 90-day window could close before he can take delivery. "We're hopeful that a new trade agreement is implemented, and the lowered tariffs do not expire," Zollo said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Japan Today
14-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
World's first commercial-scale e-methanol plant opens in Denmark
FILE PHOTO: The Alette Maersk, a green methanol-powered ship, is seen docket at the Port of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 27, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein/File Photo By Isabelle Yr Carlsson The world's first commercial-scale e-methanol plant began operations in Denmark on Tuesday, with shipping giant Maersk set to buy part of the production as a low-emission fuel for its fleet of container ships. The shipping sector is under pressure to find new sources of fuel after a majority of countries gave their backing to measures to help meet the International Maritime Organization's targets towards eliminating carbon emissions by 2050. So far zero-emission shipping fuels, such as green ammonia and e-methanol, which are produced using renewable energy, have tended to be more expensive than conventional fuel largely because they are not produced at scale. "We expect that we will have a price parity with fossil methanol around 2035," Knud Erik Andersen, CEO of Denmark's European Energy, told Reuters. Located in Kasso in southern Denmark, the new plant, which has cost an estimated 150 million euros ($167 million), will produce 42,000 metric tons, or 53 million litres, of e-methanol per year, its joint owners Denmark's European Energy and Japan's Mitsui said. Maersk will be a major customer of the Kasso plant. It operates 13 dual-fuel methanol container vessels that can be powered with fuel oil and with e-methanol and has ordered another 13 of the vessels. It said, the plant's annual production is enough to power one large 16,000 container vessel sailing between Asia and Europe. For the smaller Laura Maersk, the world's first dual-fuel container ship, with a capacity of more than 2,100 twenty-foot equivalent units, requires only 3,600 tons of fuel per year. The Laura Maersk was scheduled to fuel near Kasso on Tuesday. Traditional methanol is typically produced from natural gas and coal. The Kasso plant will make e-methanol using renewable energy and CO2 captured from biogas plants and waste incineration. Maersk said one of the biggest challenges of switching to sustainable fuel was cost, and it is researching green fuel technologies and more efficient shipping to make the process cheaper. European Energy CEO Andersen said the company has plans to expand the Kasso facility as well as a pipeline of similar plants in Europe, Australia, Brazil and the United States. In addition to its use in shipping, e-methanol can replace fossil methanol in plastic production, meaning it can supply other Danish companies. Drugmaker Novo Nordisk and toymaker Lego will use e-methanol from the plant for making injection pens and plastic elements, respectively. Excess heat generated from the e-methanol production will be used to heat 3,300 households in the local area. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
World's first commercial-scale e-methanol plant opens in Denmark
FILE PHOTO: The Alette Maersk, a green methanol-powered ship, is seen docket at the Port of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 27, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein/File Photo COPENHAGEN - The world's first commercial-scale e-methanol plant began operations in Denmark on Tuesday, with shipping giant Maersk set to buy part of the production as a low-emission fuel for its fleet of container ships. The shipping sector is under pressure to find new sources of fuel after a majority of countries gave their backing to measures to help meet the International Maritime Organization's targets towards eliminating carbon emissions by 2050. So far zero-emission shipping fuels, such as green ammonia and e-methanol, which are produced using renewable energy, have tended to be more expensive than conventional fuel largely because they are not produced at scale. "We expect that we will have a price parity with fossil methanol around 2035," Knud Erik Andersen, CEO of Denmark's European Energy, told Reuters. Located in Kasso in southern Denmark, the new plant, which has cost an estimated 150 million euros ($167 million), will produce 42,000 metric tons, or 53 million litres, of e-methanol per year, its joint owners Denmark's European Energy and Japan's Mitsui said. Maersk will be a major customer of the Kasso plant. It operates 13 dual-fuel methanol container vessels that can be powered with fuel oil and with e-methanol and has ordered another 13 of the vessels. It said, the plant's annual production is enough to power one large 16,000 container vessel sailing between Asia and Europe. For the smaller Laura Maersk, the world's first dual-fuel container ship, with a capacity of more than 2,100 twenty-foot equivalent units, requires only 3,600 tons of fuel per year. The Laura Maersk was scheduled to fuel near Kasso on Tuesday. Traditional methanol is typically produced from natural gas and coal. The Kasso plant will make e-methanol using renewable energy and CO2 captured from biogas plants and waste incineration. Maersk said one of the biggest challenges of switching to sustainable fuel was cost, and it is researching green fuel technologies and more efficient shipping to make the process cheaper. European Energy CEO Andersen said the company has plans to expand the Kasso facility as well as a pipeline of similar plants in Europe, Australia, Brazil and the United States. In addition to its use in shipping, e-methanol can replace fossil methanol in plastic production, meaning it can supply other Danish companies. Drugmaker Novo Nordisk and toymaker Lego will use e-methanol from the plant for making injection pens and plastic elements, respectively. Excess heat generated from the e-methanol production will be used to heat 3,300 households in the local area. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ocean shipping firm welcomes China-US tariff reprieve
By Rachel More and Lisa Baertlein BERLIN/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -German container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd on Monday welcomed an agreement between the United States and China to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs, saying it expected to be buoyed by a resulting increase in bookings from China to the U.S. The United States will cut extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports in April to 30% from 145% and Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125% for the next 90 days, the two sides said on Monday. Trade between the world's two largest economies plummeted in the midst of the trade standoff, prompting container shipping companies like MSC and Cosco to suspend regular routes or cancel individual voyages. Others considered switching to smaller ships. The reprieve could spark a rush of shipments to the United States, which some Chinese factories were preparing for, and send off-contract spot rates higher. "We expect bookings from China to the U.S. to increase, which should help us... into peak season," the company said in an emailed statement. The ocean shipping peak season typically refers to the August to October period, when U.S. retailers stock up on goods for the winter holiday season dominated by Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hapag-Lloyd continued sailing during the downturn, albeit with plans to downsize ships - a move that could put the carrier at an advantage over rivals that culled sailings, should customers rush in goods during the 90-day reprieve. "Originally, we had planned to use smaller ships for transports from China to (the U.S. coasts) but may reverse that if demand is strong," Hapag-Lloyd said. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said on Thursday that in two weeks the Danish firm had removed 20% of capacity on the China to United States route and transferred it to other routes. Maersk could switch that back as quickly if customers ask for it, Clerc said. Average transit time on the Transpacific trade is 22 days, so customers will take the 90-day window of opportunity to ship as many goods as possible into the United States, said Peter Sand, chief analyst at pricing platform Xeneta. "This will put upward pressure on freight rates."
