Latest news with #MediterraneanShippingCo.
Mint
01-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
China-to-US container shipments shrink as tariffs bite
The volume of Chinese goods packed in containers bound for the U.S. keeps falling as new U.S. tariffs dent demand, with the biggest ocean carriers shifting to smaller ships to move the reduced loads while other companies cancel sailings. The world's five largest containership operators say bookings for eastbound trans-Pacific shipments are down by at least a third. These biggest carriers say they haven't started canceling sailings outright, yet. But they are replacing behemoths that carry up to 18,000 containers with vessels maxing out at about 14,500 boxes, as measured by the industry standard 20-foot equivalent units. 'As we navigate the evolving market conditions, we will continue optimizing our network utilization by, for example, replacing larger vessels with smaller ones to better align with the current demand situation in some China-U.S. services," A.P. Moeller Maersk said in an emailed statement. The world's second-largest container carrier after Mediterranean Shipping Co. said it has, to date, maintained all its scheduled trans-Pacific sailings. Smaller operators have cancelled around two dozen sailings from China to the U.S. West Coast so far for May, according to brokers in Singapore and London. Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said he expects container arrivals to be down by 30.4% this week from last week. He added that 17 sailings scheduled for May have been canceled so far. The Port of Los Angeles and adjacent Port of Long Beach together make up the biggest U.S. port complex. 'This is the most unpredictable period we've ever been to," Nils Haupt, a spokesman for German carrier Hapag-Lloyd, told The Wall Street Journal. 'It's worse than Covid when logistics chains took months to recover." Haupt added that container bookings out of Southeast Asia are up by about a quarter, but this amounts to a fraction of the volume that normally comes from China. That shift comes as Chinese manufacturers that have factories in Vietnam , Cambodia, Indonesia and other countries move production to that region. 'The Chinese economy has taken the first hit," Deutsche Bank's chief China economist, Yi Xiong, wrote in a report this week. 'The shock to the U.S. economy will be delayed, as those goods will not arrive in U.S. ports until a few weeks later and importers can run on inventories for one to two months." The Baltic Exchange, which measures the cost of moving commodities worldwide, said carriers will be canceling, or 'blanking" sailings rapidly, reminiscent of the pandemic period. 'Importers are relying on built-up inventories and bonded U.S. warehouses to wait out the tariff hike," it said. The U.S. imported around 11 million containers from China last year, about 38% of all imports, according to customs data. Shipping executives estimate the tariffs have so far cut that volume by about 300,000 boxes. Carriers say they hope tariff negotiations with China will be settled over the next couple of months. This would allow container demand to pick up during the peak summer season, when importers could make up for cancelled or delayed orders since President Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports to 145% earlier this month. Even if China and the U.S. reach a deal on tariffs, it would take more than a month for revived cargoes to start coming out of China, said Peter Sand, chief analyst at shipping-research firm Xeneta. He added that freight rates from Vietnam to the U.S. West Coast now cost $200 more per box, up from nearly being equal with Chinese rates at the end of March. 'Cargo volumes are very weak out of China, with volumes down by up to 50%," maritime intelligence platform Linerlyitca said in a client note this week. 'The recovery in southeast Asian volumes to the U.S. has not been sufficient to make up for the overall transpacific shortfall." Write to Costas Paris at
Wall Street Journal
16-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Shipping Tycoons Discuss Separating Panama Ports From Hutchinson Deal
The billionaires behind the MSC shipping empire are discussing carving out two Panama ports from their $22.8 billion deal to buy dozens of ports from CK Hutchison 1 0.12%increase; green up pointing triangle, according to people familiar with the matter. Gianluigi Aponte and his son Diego Aponte, the Italian tycoons who control Mediterranean Shipping Co., have held discussions about moving ahead with the bulk of the deal, involving terminals at 41 ports on five continents, while disputes over the two ports along the Panama Canal are resolved, the people said.
Arab News
17-03-2025
- Business
- Arab News
MSC launches service to boost Saudi-East Asia trade
JEDDAH: A new shipping service by Mediterranean Shipping Co. is set to strengthen trade links between Saudi Arabia and key ports in East Asia, bolstering the Kingdom's global logistics network. Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, announced that MSC will launch the new 'Clanga' line at the Jubail Commercial Port, adding that it will strengthen the Kingdom's position in investment and logistics, according to the country's official press agency. The service will connect Jubail Commercial Port with King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, Port of Singapore, and Port of Shanghai in China, as well as Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka, with a handling capacity of up to 6,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. This move is expected to boost foreign investment and improve supply chain efficiency. It also aligns with Mawani's efforts to enhance the competitiveness of Saudi ports and support national exports, as well as the National Transport and Logistics Strategy's goal of establishing the Kingdom as a global logistics hub connecting three continents. Mawani said in a statement that the addition of the service to the Jubail port highlights its strategic role in enhancing maritime transport and logistics while supporting economic activities in the Eastern Province. The authority added that the port's proximity to production hubs, coupled with advanced infrastructure, allows it to accommodate vessels of various types and sizes, further strengthening Saudi Arabia's connectivity with global terminals. As a key facilitator of national exports, particularly industrial and petrochemical products from Jubail Industrial City, the port plays a crucial role in boosting the Kingdom's global trade competitiveness, Mawani emphasized. In August, MSC introduced the service at the King Abdulaziz Port, connecting the city with major terminals in China, including Ningbo, Shanghai, and Shekou, as well as Singapore. Mawani announced at that time that the service would operate weekly voyages with a capacity of up to 15,000 TEU. In a statement, MSC said the service was designed to address terminal congestion issues in the Middle East and enhance connectivity for Asia-Middle East cargo. The shipping company, which won the 'Best Shipping Line – Asia-Africa' award at the 2024 Asian Freight, Logistics, and Supply Chain Awards, further said that Clanga would offer a unique and competitive service for Saudi exports to the Far East through its direct call in Shanghai from Dammam.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
India plans new container line, maritime expansion
In a move that underscores the country's expanding global ambitions, India announced a multifaceted maritime initiative to bolster trade and widen the country's reach in seaborne commerce. Plans call for the launch of a new liner operator, Bharat Container Line, which New Delhi hopes will reduce India's reliance on foreign vessel operators. The project initially envisions a fleet of 100 vessels to ply what published reports described as key trade routes. By comparison, the world's largest container carrier, Mediterranean Shipping Co., operates almost 900 carrier Shipping Corp. of India (SCI) operates just four container ships, two owned and two chartered, according to data compiled by Alphaliner. This week India Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited ocean carrier CMA CGM's headquarters in Marseilles with French President Emmanuel Macron, for discussions on logistics cooperation. India also announced a $3 billion Maritime Development Fund aimed at expanding domestic shipbuilding and port infrastructure overseas. India's ambitions compare to the extensive belt-and-road development in other countries by China. On Wednesday, SCI agreed to a strategic partnership with one of India's largest downstream petroleum importers, government-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd., another element of the government's maritime imports of Russian crude oil were banned by the European Union following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India became a key transshipment hub for diesel, aviation fuel and other products made from discounted Russian oil and sold to buyers in Europe. So much so that Russia replaced Iraq as India's biggest crude supplier, according to the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Recent U.S. sanctions on 160 Russian tanker vessels — a 'dark fleet' of older ships with murky ownership — sought to further cut Russia off from crude markets, with partial success. While some ships and their cargo have been halted, others have made their way to terminals in China and India, according to published reports, turning off their satellite identification equipment in order to hide their locations. Modi is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington this week. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls aircraft carrier, merchant ship collide in Mediterranean Analyst: Shippers' tariff fears could keep trans-Pacific container rates up during February 'dip'Trump tariffs see retailers boosting US container imports Hydrogen trucks to get fuel station near busy East Coast container port The post India plans new container line, maritime expansion appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Running on Ice: Chinese tariffs' impact on the pharmaceutical supply chain
The will-they, won't-they of tariffs has been looming over the pharmaceutical industry. Earlier this week, it looked like 25% tariffs were set to be imposed on top trading partners Canada and Mexico. Then the tariffs were put on hold for a month. For the moment, that leaves only the 10% tariffs on China to contend with. Impacts of the Chinese tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry stand to be significant. The U.S. is already struggling with medication shortages forcing rationing in some areas of the country – a problem that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, especially if talks on pausing the tariffs on China are delayed. According to a CNBC article: 'China in particular is a large supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, for both brand-name and generic drugs due to lower manufacturing costs in the country. APIs are the main component of a drug that causes the desired effect of the treatment. Some generic drugs are manufactured overseas entirely.' The tariffs could increase medication shortages as well as force generic manufacturers out of the market as margins erode. Generic manufacturers operate at low prices, occasionally at a loss, making it difficult for them to absorb significant increases. Leaders of various drug advocacy groups have urged the administration to put an exemption in place for generic drugs and drug components in the tariffs, as they could negatively impact U.S. patients. Cutting-edge container monitoring is not a phrase heard very often in the supply chain world, but thanks to Mediterranean Shipping Co., it's a reality for temperature-controlled shipping containers. MSC has launched iReefer, a monitoring system for reefer containers. It allows customers to track and monitor temperature-controlled containers from anywhere in the world. It's not just temperature. The system also allows users to track location, humidity and just about anything someone would want to know about a shipment while it's in transit. The system will go live March 1. This project connects more than 210,000 reefer containers and more than 500 ships with this technology. In a news release, Giuseppe Prudente, chief logistics Officer of MSC and president of Medlog, said: 'This exciting launch highlights MSC's unique ability to combine forward-thinking digital solutions with personalized customer care. iReefer is designed with customers in mind: we fully understand their need to closely monitor and control cargo, to facilitate planning and ensure products are delivered in pristine condition. It builds on the already high levels of care we apply to reefer cargo and takes this support to the next level.' The biggest football game of the year happens this weekend. As U.S. consumers gear up for the big day, so do chicken wing companies. The Washington-based National Chicken Council has released its annual Chicken Wing Report, projecting that 'Americans will consume 1.47 billion chicken wings while watching the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles battle for the Lombardi Trophy on February 8. This figure represents an increase of 1.5 percent from last year's game, or about 20 million more wings.' For context, 1.47 billion wings laid end to end would stretch to and from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia – 63 times. Seeing as how the Buffalo Bills almost made it into the Super Bowl and Buffalo is allegedly home of the buffalo wing, any future championship game with the Bills will undoubtedly see the largest spike in wing consumption. With bird flu rising and negatively impacting egg prices, chicken wings aren't immune. There is a slight uptick in prices to $1.91 a pound, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly chicken report. This week's market under a microscope is Nashville, Tennessee. The home of country music has the fourth-highest reefer tender rejection rate in the country. At 35.71%, shippers are seeing only 63% tender acceptance, compared with the national average of 13.89%. Nashville isn't a small market, but it is experiencing significant capacity constraints as reefer rates remain significantly elevated. Compared to previous years, there isn't a clear trend of reefer outbound tender rejections spiking during the winter and then settling down as spring comes around. 2024 was the only year following the same trends as this year with a spike in rejections for the winter. Historical rates might not be overly helpful for pricing out current Nashville rates. Shippers can expect low contract compliance and might struggle to find coverage even with second- and third-tier coverage from routing guides. Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo! Häagen-Dazs slows down Fastest Film franchise in 2025 Super Bowl ad Trump's tariffs threaten big pharma with higher costs and slimmer margins Pharmaceutical industry responds to proposed Trump Administration tariffs The trade war is running hot in the Costco frozen food section Cold storage company to bring 123 jobs to Robeson County Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@ See you on the internet. Mary If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you must be pretty chill. Join the coolest community in freight and subscribe for more at The post Running on Ice: Chinese tariffs' impact on the pharmaceutical supply chain appeared first on FreightWaves.
