Did You Know That…

 

…MSC: ‘We wish to deny any interest in acquiring Zim’

·         World’s largest container line confirms it is not in the bidding

·         A deal was never on the table, says MSC, quashing reports of firm offer

·         Reported interest from Hapag Lloyd and Maersk remains unconfirmed

In the latest twist in the Zim sale drama, MSC, seen as a leading contender to take over the company, reveals that an offer was never on the table.

 

 

…The capacity of the global container fleet increased 7.3% during the past twelve months to 33.2 Mteu. This represents the addition of 2.27 Mteu slots to the fleet in this period. Most of the new capacity went to Middle East and Indian Subcontinent-related trades (607,430 teu slots), liner services to and from Sub-Saharan Africa (575,410 teu) and the Far East – Europe route (451,074 teu).

 

…Containers: Liner industry enters a new era of turbulence

·         Carriers are preparing for a volatile 2026

·         A full return to the Suez is expected to trigger bottlenecks and short-term rate spikes

·         US tariff policy remains unpredictable, adding another layer of uncertainty to global trade flows

·         The real pressure arrives in 2027, when new tonnage drives structural overcapacity, and carriers will soon shift from tactical rate management to long-term strategic positioning.

Short-term disruption will continue to shape the market through 2026, but the industry is moving steadily towards a structural downturn. A surge of new vessels from 2027 will outpace demand, despite rising demolition. Analysts expect this to trigger a new phase of carrier repositioning and alliance realignment.

 

…Asia–Europe ocean freight markets are closing out the year with firm upward pressure on rates, driven by aggressive capacity management and a late surge in seasonal demand. Capacity withdrawals intensify. Carriers have strategically withdrawn substantial capacity throughout the autumn to underpin higher pricing during tender season. On Asia–North Europe, available weekly capacity decreased by almost one-fifth from mid-September to early November. In October alone, carriers removed nearly one-quarter of scheduled slots through blank sailings,and announced cancellations for November reached almost half that level before further additions. Mediterranean services saw a similar pattern, with tens of thousands of TEUs withdrawn each month as operators attempted to keep supply in check. Despite these cuts, the overall pool of vessels continues to expand. After several years of record deliveries and minimal scrapping, the global order-book now represents close to one-third of the active fleet. More ships are scheduled for delivery in 2027–2029, raising longer-term concerns about persistent overcapacity.

Since early October, carriers have applied rate increases at roughly fortnightly intervals, and while not all have fully landed, the general trend remains upward. Spot prices on both North Europe and Mediterranean routes have risen sharply since the start of Q4, supported by widespread blank sailings and tightening space.

…Asia-North America ocean rates in double-digit bounce-back. Continuing rate rises on Asia-Europe ocean trades may have been the main story in recent weeks, but other trades are getting in on the act.

 

…Saudi Arabia wants to host the world’s cheapest data centres. With plentiful land and electricity on hand, the kingdom thinks it has found an edge. Two hours south of Jeddah, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, the Al Shuaiba solar farm blankets 50 square kilometres of desert. The first phase of the project, started in 2024, produces 600 megawatts of electricity at just 3.9 Saudi halalas (just over a cent) per kilowatt-hour, nearly a twentieth of the cost of generation at Britain’s planned Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. Saudi Arabia’s plan for all this cheap electricity is to power enormous data centres for artificial intelligence (AI).

…Carriers boost capacity to meet growing demand on Africa trades. As previously reported by DYKT bulletin, Africa is “by far” one of the fastest-growing markets, together with the Middle East and South Asia.  

 

 

…The Suez Canal Container Terminal in East Port Said has expanded, adding 2.2 million TEUs of annual capacity, bringing the facility's total throughput capability to 7 million TEUs.

 

…With options such as experimental voyages, partial return, or a multi-phased full return strategy, The Suez Canal Authority is increasing efforts and meeting with major shipping organisations to encourage the return of container ships to the Red Sea.

…ONE launches Red Sea-China service as carriers mull Red Sea return. Voyage will transit Bab el Mandeb but does not cross the Suez Canal. New service follows trend among container carriers to gradually resume Red Sea transits.

…Maersk makes first Red Sea transit in almost two years. Maersk has made its initial Red Sea transit, but says it is not yet ready to restore trans-Suez routings. Any return will be stepwise and dependent on sustained security improvements.

…APM is set to build and operate a $550 million container terminal - named the Laldia Container Terminal - at Chittagong Port, Bangladesh's main cargo gateway, on a 30-year concession, with a provision to extend it further based on performance metrics.

…Hong Kong customs use robot to make drug seizure. Officers seized over 400 kg of cocaine from the vessel’s sea chest. An intelligence operation led customs officials to the unnamed vessel, which was then inspected by a submersible robot.

…Costco, Revlon Consumer Products, Bumble Bee Foods and numerous other companies are suing the Trump administration, seeking a refund on tariffs paid as well as injunction on any upcoming required tariff payments.

 

…Donald Trump denounced Europe’s leaders as “weak” and “so politically correct”. He said that mass migration had destroyed their countries, which won’t be

“viable” for much longer.

 

…Proving its success in pivoting to other markets to counter America’s tariffs, China’s yearly trade surplus in goods rose above $1trn for the first time.

 

…Australia’s ban on social media for children aged under 16 came into force. The first prohibition of its kind in the world will be watched closely byother countries considering whether to pass similar measures.

 

…As 2025 draws to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our members around the globe, for your continued interest, engagement and support throughout the year. These are dynamic times for the logistics world – and also for us at EAA Network. We are continuously developing the network and you can expect more news about the network’s company structure and the upconming annual conference within short. One thing stands out across regions: logistics, shipping and forwarding remains both resilient and exposed. From ports to policy, the past twelve months reinforced how closely connected global supply chains have become.

On behalf of the board, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings and Joy with your families and dear ones!

 

…This DYKT news bulletin will be published on the website as well, go to www.eaanetwork.com.