Rumours that Maersk will restrict some customers to spot bookings from 1 January could be “a big opportunity” for smaller forwarders to win business from their multinational competitors. Sean Crook, director at Sydney-based forwarder Neolink, says Maersk and subsidiary Hamburg Süd have “definitely been pushing everyone to online bookings and/or FAK [freight...
Cargo in aircraft passenger cabins will no longer be accepted by China in the new year – a move expected to keep air freight rates high. China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) said “only anti-epidemic-related items are allowed to be loaded in the cabin”. It added: “At the same time, the new regulations also...
Evergreen and Yang Ming are not following the contractual stance of rival operators, including Maersk and Cosco which are locking-in customers to multi-year contracts The two Taiwanese carriers believe they should not bind their customers. Yang Ming president Patrick Tu said: “We have to consider customers’ wishes. They may think freight rates may not...
US importers and forwarders are looking to New York’s Port Elizabeth Terminal for a faster intermodal link to the US Midwest and Canada. APM Terminals Elizabeth is marketing a new service that claims faster transfers from ship to rail, with multiple daily train departures to the interior. Key to the operation is a...
As it continues to drive its container line services towards a high majority of long-term contract business, Maersk has introduced six different types of agreement for the 2022 tender season. The launch of the new contract options comes as rumours persist that Maersk and subsidiary Hamburg Süd will spurn forwarder bookings next...
Ocean carriers face ‘Hobson’s choice’ on the containership charter market: agreeing to owners’ hugely inflated daily hire rates or risking losing the vessel to a competitor. Hapag-Lloyd has just agreed a three-month charter commencing in January of the 4,253 teu Synergy Oakland for an eye-watering $130,000 a day from Greek non-operating owner...
China’s quarantine rules for seafarers are set to cause a big drop in Pearl River Delta feeder capacity in the run-up to Chinese New Year (CNY) in February. Both ONE and Hapag-Lloyd have issued advisories warning of disruption from late December to mid-February, after feeder operators announced service suspensions due to a...
Any significant fall in container spot rates from Asia seems increasingly unlikely this side of February’s Chinese New Year, but thereafter the jury is out on the direction of the spot market. And this adds an element of risk for shippers signing up to new and expensive long-term contracts. However, the fear of...
Antwerp is positioning itself to be the UK’s gateway to Europe. Unaccompanied container volumes have increased considerably over the past year, despite markets being depressed, and the expectation is that this trend will continue next year, Port of Antwerp international development manager Wim Dillen told The Loadstar in an interview. With the recent...
Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN) has written a strong letter to the Dutch consumer and markets authority over its concerns that “monopolistic” Schiphol’s attempt to raise airline fees by 37% is “unjustified”. At the end of October, Schiphol proposed new airline charges: 9% in 2022; 12% in 2023; and 12% in 2024. “The cumulative...
