Did You Know That..

…Singapore battles port congestion as Red Sea crisis snarls container traffic.  Older berths go back on line to deal with Singapore box volume spike. Congestion is unlikely to ease any time soon, amid the rising demand from the US and Europe, coupled with an early peak season, analyst says.

…Peak season capacity crunch looms as Asian port congestion grinds on. The port stay time for boxships at Singapore, Port Klang, and Tanjung Pelepas has seen a surge, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. Severe congestion is expected to continue constraining available capacity and bolstering freight rates as the peak season approaches, although the latest Chinese manufacturing PMI indices have issued warnings about potential demand slowdown.

…Desperate shippers push box rates higher. The early peak season is coming at just the wrong time. Carriers are struggling to provide capacity as networks snarl up with congestion; but shippers are desperately trying to beat delays by booking early.

…Maersk hikes guidance again as congestion and spot rates mount. New guidance for $1bn-$3bn of 2024 ebit vs February forecast of -$5bn to zero.  A common refrain among analysts and investors is that container shipping lines have been far too conservative in their 2024 guidance and will be forced to continually upgrade. They were right. Maersk has just upgraded its guidance for the second time in a month.

…A Transpac report from our member Janel Group in the USA: Ocean Freight Market. Transpac availability remains limited with bookings approx.3 weeks in advance and conditions are expected to continue throughout June. Carriers leveraged the capacity crunch to implement a Peak Season Surcharge and will likely implement GRI and PSS on June 1. Amid the recent uptick in demand, MSC has announced “Diamond Tier premium” for guaranteed space and other carriers are likely to follow suit.

Janel Group is excited to share their exclusive promotional rates for key trans-Atlantic lanes. For a complete pricing proposal, please send any requests for U.S. East Coast ports to destinations listed to our Director of Procurement - Gabriel Racicot at gracicot@janelgroup.co.

…Chinese consortium will win bid for Georgia’s Black Sea container port Anaklia. Sole candidate to have met the proposal deadline, with result to be announced soon. Georgia will invest $600m in the initial phase of the revived port project, with an anticipated annual capacity of 600,000 teu.

…Panama Canal increases maximum draught ahead of schedule. Rising water levels on Gatun Lake have brought the announcement forward. More transit slots have been available since May 16 as the start of the rainy season eases water shortage fears..

…New Patenga Container Terminal set to add capacity at Chittagong. Bangladesh’s newly built Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) will begin handling boxes this Monday, creating scope for the congested Chittagong port to boost output and bringing some relief to shippers.

…Singapore and Ukraine sign ASA. Singapore and Ukraine signed an air services agreement (ASA) to support air connectivity between both countries when the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visited Singapore on 2 June 2024.

…Flooding brings North European barge traffic to the brink of chaos. Europe’s inland waterways are bracing for chaos following recent flooding in southern Germany, which has already made its mark on the region’s rail freight sector. Persistent heavy rain in southern Germany has led to extreme flooding across the region, with five confirmed casualties, and forced the level of the River Danube to double from its usual level of around three metres to more than six metres.

…The prime ministers of China and Japan and the president of South Korea held a summit, where they pledged to restart talks on creating a trilateral free-trade agreement.

…Temperatures in Delhi approached 50 degrees C (122 degr F), the highest ever in the Indian capital.

…Chinese container makers reveal surge in orders. China International Marine Containers (CIMC), the largest container manufacturer, said that container orders were up five-fold in Q1 24, to 494,400 teu, as the equipment shortage bites. In contrast, reefer orders decreased by 23%, to 9,300 teu, a trend CIMC blamed on declining consumption of refrigerated goods caused by inflation. Sales of specialised containers fell by nearly half, to 35,000 units, due to lower demand for containers tailored to rail transport.

…The representation of the network in the remaining countries in Scandinavia (besides Denmark where we have NORDIC Shipping & Logistics as valued partner), is taking shape. We anticipate to appoint new strong and reliable members in Sweden and Finland with effect of the 1st of July.. Stay tuned.

…Christian Roeder will succeed Julián Fernández as managing director of APM Terminals Poti, Georgia, effective 6 June 2024, and will join the company's European regional leadership team.

…Hong Kong convicted 14 pro-democracy activists. The ruling acts as a warning: dissent and pay the price.
 
…Forwarders see optimistic outlook for H2/2024. The downward trend has been halted. According to the market report of the European Association of International Freight Forwarders (Elvis), the first signs of an overall economic recovery are emerging.

…A medium-sized fair-weather cloud weighs as much as 80 elephants.

…People who have hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia are afraid of the number 666 😊.

Wishing you all a great Friday and weekend ahead!