Monthly Archives for March 2017

New alliance uncertainty slowing trans-Pacific contracting Caution has defined shippers’ approach to trans-Pacific contract talks thus far in the negotiating season. Contracting in the eastbound Pacific is progressing slower than usual this year due to uncertainties over the services that will be offered by the restructured carrier alliances, the financial health of some shipping lines […]

VIDEO: Multiple avenues to shipper-carrier cooperation While pricing was a critical focus of the JOC’s 17th Annual TPM Conference, one theme that popped up in a number of panel discussions was a changing of the paradigm that defines relationships between carriers and shippers from one focused primarily on cost to one that takes into account […]

NYSHEX gets .5M ahead of launch A startup cargo booking exchange platform designed to increase certainty and accountability in the container market has secured funding of $8.5 million from GE and Goldman Sachs, among others. The New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX) is set to launch an online portal in June through which carrier cargo space […]

Alliances favor big volume Asia-North Europe shippers The new alliance service networks put some shippers at a disadvantage. The new shipping alliance services on the Asia-North Europe trade will benefit large volume shippers on the major routes at the expense of exporters on secondary lanes, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants. The structure of the new […]

Need for NY-NJ port extended gates comes into focus Trucks enter the gates of Maher Terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey. NEWARK, New Jersey — New York may be the city that never sleeps, but the four main terminals at its namesake port, the Port of New York and New Jersey, […]

Panama Canal aims to double big-ship transits with tech aid The Panama Canal is upgrading the software the underpins the operations of its Marine Traffic Control Center. The Panama Canal Authority (PCA) is developing a computerized scheduling and resource management system that it says will help double the number of big ships that can travel […]

Long-term Asia-Europe contracts rates rocket The Asia-Europe spot rate fell to its lowest-ever level in the same week last year. Rate management platform Xeneta is reporting a 64 percent year-over-year increase in long-term contracts from China to North Europe that were concluded in the last three months for mid-June sailings.Xeneta said its future long-term rates […]

Capacity from new alliances to put Asia-Europe rates under pressure Rate turmoil may be on the cards for Asia-Europe, at least as carriers transition from the old alliances to the new vessel-sharing agreements. Under the new alliance structure, total weekly capacity from Asia to North Europe will increase by almost 10 percent compared to the […]

Matchback tools are plentiful, but are they enough? US shippers looking for help in matching inbound and outbound ocean containers, reducing costs, and increasing equipment availability have plenty of options, but questions remain as to whether a single clearinghouse has the right combination of market penetration, shipper network, and price. On Thursday, ocean shipping technology […]

Slideshow: Shipping insights heard at TPM With more than 109 speakers and 2,100 attendees, JOC’s 17th Annual TPM Conference was bursting with sharp insights on where the industry is headed and on ways to break the cycle of overcapacity, less-than-spectacular service, and unsustainable rates. Here are a few of the event’s most telling quotes, along […]