Total 206 Posts
Register Free Trial The uncertainty surrounding the return of containerships from the Cape route continues to rile the market with freight futures rallying over the past week after CMA CGM signalled to its rivals against an early return to the Suez that could drag down freight rates that are already under downward pressure. The SCFI dropped by 7.4% last week with further declines expected ahead of the Chinese New Year as carriers eager to build cargo roll pools start to slash rates more aggress
Register Free Trial Trump’s Greenland tariffs would threaten the fragile balance on the Transatlantic container trades, with westbound rates from Europe to the US already down by 40% since the beginning of 2025. But carriers face a bigger challenge away from the Transatlantic arena as freight rates out of Asia are eroding despite earlier expectations of a market rally ahead of the Chinese New Year. The lack of capacity discipline continues to pull down freight rates with the SCFI shedding 4.4%
Register Free Trial The early market momentum have weakened after freight rates faltered last week, with sharp declines in rates to South America, Oceania and the Middle East. Rates from China to Mexico have recorded the sharpest declines after dropping by more than 65% since early September. Carriers are also rolling back the rate hikes on the Asia-Europe and transpacific routes following China’s decision to remove value added tax rebates from 1 April for several key export products including
Register Free Trial Developments in Venezuela over the weekend will have little impact on the container markets as total container throughput at Venezuela’s ports have dropped significantly since 2012 when it reached a peak of 1.57m TEU. Total volumes handled at Venezuela have dropped to less than 500,000 TEU per annum since 2019 and currently accounts for just 0.5% of total Latin American container volumes. The potential recovery in trade volumes post-Maduro will take several years to be reali
Register Free Trial Container freight rates enjoyed a mini year end rally with the SCFI rising by 6.7% in the last reading of 2025 while the CCFI increased by a more modest 2.0%. Despite the recent rate strength, average 4th quarter CCFI rates remain 10.7% lower than the 3rd quarter and the current quarter’s rates is at the lowest level in 2 years with carriers’ earnings already under pressure. CMA CGM has started to send their ships back o the Suez route as scheduled from last week on their e
Register Free Trial Maersk will make its first Suez transit on 22 December in 2 years with the 7,250 teu MAERSK SEBAROK on the Middle East-US East Coast MECL service. However Maersk stressed that it has not yet decided on a wider shift back to the Suez route. Apart from CMA CGM and Maersk, the other carriers have not made any moves to return to the Suez route and a full return is not expected take place until at least 3 months later. Container cargo demand has remained resilient through 2025 w
Register Free Trial The containership orderbook has risen to 11.61m TEU, accounting for 34.8% of the current fleet on the back of a record number of ships ordered in 2025. The carriers’ appetite for new ships goes beyond their fleet renewal needs and raises the spectre of over-supply in the next 4 years. After failing to secure rate increases earlier this month, carriers are pushing ahead with another series of rate hikes in mid-December with mixed success. Although the SCFI surged by 7.8% las
Register Free Trial ZIM’s future as an independent carrier will be tested in the next 6 months, with the potential sale of the company facing significant challenges. Apart from geo-political hurdles related to its Israeli ownership, the company’s valuation remains a key point of contention as its current market capitalization of $2.4Bn is lower than its cash value of $2.9Bn. Market headwinds persist with freight rates still slipping in early December after carriers failed to push through their
Register Free Trial No full scale return to the Suez is expected in the next 2 months despite the statement from the Suez Canal Authority on 25 November that Maersk will send their ships back to the Suez Canal in early December. Neither Maersk or its Gemini Cooperation partner Hapag-Lloyd are scheduled to return any of their ships to the Suez next month. CMA CGM remains the only main carrier to test the early return to the Suez, with 3 of its Asia-Europe & Med services set to resume eastbound v
Register Free Trial The container market barometer has shifted into negative territory again with TEU-mile demand growth slipping below the growth in vessel supply and the outlook remaining gloomy for the remainder of this year. Carriers’ reluctance to withdraw capacity during the slack winter season has hurt freight rates across key routes with the transpacific rates facing the greatest stress. Despite the softening freight market, carriers has continued to bid up charter rates and second-han