Germany's Hapag-Lloyd has contacted several shipyard to request offers on mega vessels, the container line confirms to ShippingWatch. This happens just one year after the container line also reached out to shipyards regarding LNG-powered mega vessels.
Henriette Thygesen, who forms part of Maersk's executive management team, now encourages the UN to enter talks with heads of state around the world to find a solution for the many seafarers stranded at sea.
The soaring rates in recent months on the Pacific mean that one of the ONE partners made more money than expected in the second quarter. The update falls in line with a general trend among the biggest container lines.
CMA CGM has acquired a stake in a French airline in an effort to strengthen its position in air freight, says CEO Rodolphe Saadé.
DSV Panalpina's stock is now for the first time trading at more than DKK 1,000. It has increased 31 percent this year and has more than doubled since the start of the coronavirus.
Maersk tells ShippingWatch in an email that there has in recent months been a shortage of especially large forty-foot containers in the market. The shipping line says it is working hard to resolve the issue. The statement comes after criticism from DHL.
Since the first coronavirus outbreak in the spring, rates for the medium-sized container ships have been soaring to record levels, and in some areas the rates are at almost the highest level in a decade.
The biggest container ship yet capable of sailing on LNG was delivered to French shipping line CMA CGM on Tuesday. The ship was christened at a ceremony in Shanghai and will set out on its maiden voyage Wednesday.
Maersk's CEO Søren Skou encourages the company's 70,000 employees to speak up if they have witnessed or been the victim of inappropriate behavior in the work place.
Maersk has resumed the sailings on the Pacific that it blanked in the second qurter. As such, the company follows in the footsteps of Chinese OOCL, which has also reinstated several blanked sailings in October.
All signs indicate that the US retail industry will soon need to replenish its inventories following the coronavirus crisis. This is good news for the container lines, which are already sailing at the highest rates in a long time.
Both Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd now eye growth potential in bringing in more mid-sized companies as customers, writes Børsen. Maersk has already launched a solution to bring in a segment usually reserved for freight forwarders, writes the newspaper.
Freight rates from China to Europe continue to rise, show new numbers. The new price increases come at a time when China has met with the major container lines about the price development.
The partnership between Royal Arctic Line and Eimskip has been met with criticism from customers since it launched this summer. "When you make something new, don't judge it until it's complete," says RAL Chief Executive Verner Hammeken to ShippingWatch.
Cosco-owned OOCL calls off its blanking of several sailings in October. The update comes at a time when rumors abound that China will put an end to rate increases between China and the US.
Shippers say that container lines and regulators are largely disregarding their frustrations about the fact that freight rates have exploded since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. The question is whether they have a say in the matter.
According to Chinese media, officials from China are prepared to launch a probe if container lines continue to raise the prices of container shipping, reports Bloomberg News.
Hamburg Commercial Bank is now starting to feel how several competitors have decided to halt their loans to shipping entirely. "This is an opportunity for us," the bank's head of shipping tells ShippingWatch.
A.P. Moller-Maersk plans to use excess capital to buy its own bonds back. The shipping line made it through the coronavirus pandemic better than expected.
French container line CMA CGM is set to soon take delivery of megamax vessel Jacques Saadé, which is fueled by LNG, notes analyst firm.
EU has earlier in the coronavirus process issued a warning to the container lines that are now facing criticism for having used the crisis to force prices up. But beyond this, the EU competition regulators will not interfere, ShippingWatch has learned.
Shipping lines may need to blank even more sailings between Asia and North America for the Chinese holidays in early October, when factories shut down and container demand is expected to drop, writes Sea-Intelligence.
China decided to summon container lines to a meeting in the same week that rates on key routes from China to the US climbed to record highs. Freight to Los Angeles has increased by 185 percent in a year, writes Jefferies.
Within the next few days, the major container lines will meet with the Chinese Ministry of Transport, says shipping analyst Lars Jensen. The meeting comes in the wake of rumors that China is planning measures to counter voided sailings and rate increases.
A.P. Møller-Maersk's CEO, Søren Skou, is worried countries will introduce more protectionist initiatives that will hamper world trade in the wake of the corona crisis, writes Danish newspaper Børsen.
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