Container Shipping

Container shortage, freight spike shake maritime economy in India

India's merchandise exports also contracted by nearly 10 per cent in August. Both officials and traders highlighted the challenges in transportation

In export push, govt steps in to raise container capacity amid shortage

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announces purchase of second-hand vessels

Container volume likely to grow 8% to 342 million tonnes in FY25: Report

Container volume is expected to grow by 8 per cent to 342 million tonnes this fiscal despite the risk of a prolonged Red Sea crisis, CateEdge Ratings said on Thursday. The slated connection of the dedicated freight corridor to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in FY26, along with capacity additions by ports, is expected to drive growth in container volume over the medium term, it added. Cargo at Indian ports is dominated by 3Cs -- crude oil (termed as Petroleum Oil Lubricants (POL), coal and containers. These three commodities represent 74-75 per cent of total cargo throughput handled by ports. Over the past 3 years ended FY24, POL witnessed a moderate CAGR of 4 per cent while coal and container volumes witnessed 13 per cent and 9 per cent growth, respectively, CateEdge Ratings said. The rating agency said it expects coal cargo throughput at ports to grow at a CAGR of 2-3 per cent between FY24 and FY26, despite an anticipated decline in coal imports by 3-4 per cent due to increased domestic c

Cranes arriving to remove wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

The largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard was being transported to Baltimore so crews can begin removing the wreckage of a collapsed highway bridge that has halted a search for four workers still missing days after the disaster and blocked the city's vital port from operating. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the crane, which was arriving by barge and can lift up to 1,000 tons, will be one of at least two used to clear the channel of the twisted metal and concrete remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and the cargo ship that hit it this week. "The best minds in the world are working on the plans for removal, Moore said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Baltimore District told the governor that it and the Navy were mobilizing major resources from around the country at record speed to clear the channel. This is not just about Maryland, Moore said. This is about the nation's economy. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in America. He warned of

Baltimore bridge collapse: US concerned about impact on immediate region

US officials have expressed concern about the implications rippling beyond the immediate region after a key bridge harbouring America's largest vehicle handling port collapsed in Baltimore when a cargo ship crashed into it, even as experts predicted repercussions to be "modest and mainly localised". The 2.6km-long, four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore was destroyed after Dali, a 984-foot cargo ship bound for Sri Lanka, collided against a bridge column in the early hours of Tuesday. The collapse of the bridge has indefinitely halted the flow of ships in and out of Baltimore Port. We are concerned about the local economic impact, with some 8,000 jobs directly associated with port activities," US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters in the White House on Wednesday. "We're concerned about implications that will ripple out beyond the immediate region because of the port's role in our supply chains, he said, describing the Baltimore po

Container shipping charter rates set for course correction: Report

Container shipping charter rates are set for a course correction after touching historical highs in 2021 and staying elevated so far this year, according to a report. It also expects margins of the Indian shippers squeezing this fiscal even as they will be higher than the pre-Covid level. Charter rates were up 156 per cent year-on-year for the first seven months of this year, according to Crisil Research. Over the remaining months, however, the rates are expected to decline, though still ending the year 40-70 per cent higher, it said. These rates are likely to slide a further 30-50 per cent in 2023 on account of the expected recessionary environment in the majority of the consumption economies and consequent fall in demand for discretionary goods, according to the report. It also noted that a widely anticipated recessionary environment is expected to weigh on demand in key consumption countries in the West towards the end of the year, among other factors for the anticipated furthe

Old is gold: Sky-high cost of ageing ships sounds inflation worldwide

The disruption to world trade caused by pandemic lockdowns and a shortage of new cargo vessels has pushed freight rates for ageing container ships to record highs

Shortage of empty containers in Asia may get worse on Rotterdam jam

Empty container boxes crucial are getting stuck in the port of Rotterdam as a growing backlog of undelivered goods at Europe's export hub forces ocean carriers to prioritise shipments of filled boxes

Tight Asia capacity limits room for new LNG ships: Korea Shipbuilding exec

SEOUL (Reuters) -Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) has mostly filled its order book for the next 2-1/2 years as the pandemic drove demand for container ships, leaving little room to meet the needs of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, a senior company executive said.

How shipping industry's $500 bn profit can help it take on Amazon, FedEx

By the end of 2022, the container-shipping industry will have earned a staggering half a trillion dollars of operating profit from two years of supply-chain misery, estimates Drewry

Sagarmala project: Poor planning on container traffic haunting shippers

The lack of emphasis on expanding container traffic is haunting shippers

Engineering firm Braithwaite plans Rs 50 cr capex for container biz

Engineering firm Braithwaite & Co Ltd has earmarked Rs 50 crore as capital expenditure (capex) for taking up container manufacturing in a big way, a company official said on Sunday. The Miniratna public sector undertaking has forayed into the manufacturing segment as the country is focusing on indigenous production of containers and reducing dependence on China for such goods carriers. The PSU under the Ministry of Railways has orders of 350 containers for global logistics major DP World and 1,000 for Container Corporation of India Ltd, the official said. We have a big plan for container manufacturing to help traders reduce cost and dependence on imports for such goods carriers. This initiative is in line with the AatmaNirbhar Bharat. We have earmarked Rs 50 crore in this business. The investment will be made in phases, Braithwaite Chairman and Managing Director Yatish Kumar told PTI. Braithwaite was also working with the state-run Steel Authority of India for speciality steel for

Shipping rate surge threatens global economic recovery, says UNCTAD

A surge in demand for consumer goods during the pandemic has created major supply bottlenecks around the world, which has impacted the supply of container ships and boxes to transport cargo

JNPT reports 40.4% growth in container traffic in H1 FY22

The country's premier container port JNPT has reported 40.40 per cent growth in container traffic at 2,703,051 TEUs in the first half of the fiscal, according to a release on Monday.

Indian exporters allege global shipping companies are forming cartels

Ask govt to regulate them, bat for a larger Indian shipping company

Signals through the fog

Logistical disruptions are pushing apparent demand away from real demand, exacerbating the bull-whip effect

One stuck box of fertiliser shows the global supply chain crisis

From the US to Sudan to China, container boxes have been lying at ports, railyards and in warehouses as the pandemic rages on

Exporters likely to move CCI on 'cartelisation' in shipping industry

Based on estimates of the Directorate General of Shipping, the country has seen a 15 per cent fall in the supply of containers in 2021 for various reasons

Special train with 180 shipping containers to arrive in Rajasthan

In view of shortage of containers in Rajasthan amidst the pandemic, a special train carrying 180 shipping containers from Mundra port in Gujarat will arrive here on Saturday. This is for the first time that double-stack container train is arriving in Jaipur for the Inland Container Depot of Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation Limited (RAJSICO), an official said. The train has been flagged off from Mundra on Thursday and shall arrive on destination by Saturday. The train will be carrying empty containers for timely assistance for the local export-related businesses. The disruption caused by the COVID pandemic has resulted in a shortage of shipment containers in Rajasthan. This has directly affected the exports. The double-stack train will help address the shortage issue. "Rajsico is working towards assisting small industries in the state with exports and with the commencement of the double stack train the process shall gain further momentum," Rajesh Sharma, managing director, ...

Supply lines at risk as shipping containers topple over at alarming rate

Millions of dollars of cargo sinks to the bottom of oceans as pressure to speed deliveries raises the risk of safety errors.