Ocean carriers have become the standard for connecting trading partners from different geographies, especially when large volumes of freight must be sent over significant distances. Freight costs on carriers are among the lowest available, making these remarkable ocean liners the preferred choice for shipments that are not adversely impacted by a longer transportation time – anywhere from 10 to 30 days. However, maintaining these lower costs has been a challenge in an asset-heavy, highly competitive industry that requires considerable financial investment – not just in the ships themselves, but in fuel and carriers as well. This may be one reason why many major carriers have expanded their services to also incorporate freight consolidation, warehousing, and truck and rail service, so shipments can literally now be made door-to-door rather than port-to-port.

The World’s Largest Cargo Ship Makes Impressive Arrival in Britain

Britain’s largest and busiest container port, the Port of Felixstowe, witnessed a remarkable event as the MSC Loreto, one of… Read More

The Internet of Things on the High Seas

Haylle Sok 6:52 AM  7/11/2016

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s largest shipbuilder, has signed a memorandum of understanding to create an ecosystem for smart… Read More

Container Shipping Rates Have Bottomed Out and Are Forecast to Rise

Haylle Sok 5:37 AM  7/11/2016

Container freight rates are forecast to rise modestly over the next 18 months from the all-time lows reached recently, but… Read More

Arctic Council Work Group Addresses Oil Spill Risks

Haylle Sok 4:50 AM  7/11/2016

To advance environmental stewardship in the Arctic, three senior officials of the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)… Read More

WSS Launches New Canal Transit Service

Haylle Sok 4:12 AM  7/10/2016

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has launched a new canal transit solution designed to ensure that its customers’ vessels pass through… Read More

Ocean Shipping Alliances Impact U.S. Exporters

Haylle Sok 3:24 AM  7/8/2016

Lately, nearly every headline in the global shipping industry announces a new alliance between the world’s top carriers, or the… Read More

MOL Benefactor is First Neopanamax Containership to Transit the Expanded Panama Canal

Peter Buxbaum 8:09 AM  7/7/2016

MOL Benefactor, a 10,000-TEU containership, successfully passed through the expanded Panama Canal on July 1. The vessel, operated by Mitsui… Read More

East-West Shippers See Acceleration in Container Contract Rates Cuts

Peter Buxbaum 4:24 AM  7/7/2016

Ocean freight rates for cargo moving under contracts on the major east-west trade routes fell by another 18 percent between… Read More

“We Will All Benefit From the Successful Expansion of the Panama Canal”

Haylle Sok 3:11 AM  7/7/2016

The Panama Canal expansion will contribute positively to climate change issues and to the reduction of CO2 emissions. So said… Read More

Brexit: No Silver Lining for Container Shipping

Peter Buxbaum 9:29 AM  7/6/2016

Xeneta, a global benchmarking and market intelligence platform for containerized ocean freight, believes that the United Kingdom’s decision to leave… Read More

Light at the End of the Tunnel for Multipurpose Shipping?

Haylle Sok 8:50 AM  7/6/2016

The demand outlook for the multipurpose fleet has not improved since the first quarter of 2016. The breakbulk and project… Read More

CMA CGM Completing Acquisition of NOL

Peter Buxbaum 6:05 AM  7/6/2016

CMA CGM announced last week that it crossed the compulsory acquisition ownership threshold in Neptune Orient Lines Limited (NOL). Following… Read More