Hong Kong and South China affected by typhoon
The Hong Kong Observatory has issued Storm Signal Number 10 today – due to Typhoon Hatom, which is expected to remain for at least the rest of the day.
Due to the adverse weather conditions, many flights to and from Hong Kong have been cancelled and the local port operations have been suspended. In Shenzhen, the red typhoon warning has been issued, and the Yantian terminal suspended its operations as well. Disruptions in the next few days are expected as well. Many local businesses will be closed.
Should you have urgent enquiry related to Hong or Shenzhen shipments, please contact your BOC International representative.

 
Traffic controls in Xiamen, Aug 31 – Sep 6
Please note that the city of Xiamen is hosting the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), at a Multilateral Summit during the first week of September 2017. The Xiamen Transportation Bureau therefore has announced the implementation of traffic controls in the lead up to this international meeting:

Note: “X” in the table above denotes dates when the restrictions are in force. With these restrictions in place, we expect operations between 31 August and 06 September to be impacted as follows:

• Air Freight shipments are likely to come to a standstill as the cut-off time for cargo receipt at the airport terminal is 1730h (application for overtime duty until 20h00 may be possible), while trucks are only permitted to run between 22h00 – 05h00. Also, freighter planes calling at Xiamen airport from 30 August to 06 September will be cancelled.
• Ocean Freight shipments (both FCL and LCL) will be restricted due to the prohibition of container trucks.
• Besides traffic restrictions, cargo transported into the city will be subject to higher level of security checks regardless of transport mode, which will contribute to longer transit time.

 
It is not known yet if ocean carriers and airlines will skip calls to and from Xiamen during this period. Our team will monitor the situation and update you on the developments.
 
In the meantime, please reach out to your BOC Representative with any questions. Thank you
 

Customer Advisory: Chittagong Port Situation Update
Current Chittagong Port operation & berthing situation:

• Present berthing congestion/waiting time at anchorage is around 8-9 days.
• 22 container vessels are waiting in the queue and 09 vessels at berth (GCB-4, CCT-1, NCT-4) instead 12 Container berth.
• CPA (Chittagong Port Authority) has cut down container berthing to accommodate Break-Bulk/Car Carrier vessels and also for dredging purpose.
• Yard occupancy already crossed the capacity and heavily congested with import laden boxes.
• Both discharging/loading operation are severely hampered due yard congestion.
• CPA not allowing Vessels to stay at Port after completion of discharging operation within 48 hours.
• CPA have restricted empty shipment from Depots and continuing force shipment of MT containers from Port Yard
• CPA has started repair of affected Gantry Cranes at CCT (Berth # 03) from 8th of Aug through Mitsubishi Corporation expected to fully repaired within 3-5 months.
• CPA is only allowing 7 gearless vessels inside port berthing facility to avoid more congestions.

 
Berthing delays  at different terminals :

• NCT – 8/9 days
• CCT – 11/12 days
• GCB – 5/6 days
• 09 Vessel at Berth; 22 container vessels at outer anchorage; 20 vessels declared to get berth within 2 days.

Yard congestion:
Port yards are  103% occupied with both laden and empty containers.
Yard capacity 36357 Teus, present occupancy 36740 Teus.
5721 Tues MT lying against capacity of 5500 Tues.
Other issues :
a)CPA official stop allowing for GATE ENTRY for export container against any individual sailing vessel 3 to 6Hrs prior vessel sailing/outward pilot time.
b)CPA strictly following for GEARLESS vessels port stay 48Hrs and for the GEARED vessel highest 72Hrs port/berth stay.
c)All vessels must have to sail within this given period of time with whatever is loaded on to the Fvsls. As a result, max Fvsls departing with 50% load ability.
Future Expansion Plan of GOVT of Bangladesh
1.Bangladesh GOVT is planning to build a floating Terminal near to port outer anchorage to provide smooth service to Pangaon Inland River Terminal.
2.GOVT is pushing private ICD owners to build more ICDs near to this floating terminal, so that Fvsls can get berth for quick loading & discharge to free Chittagong Port congestions.
3.GOVT also expanding the capacity of 2nd port of Bangladesh located in Mongla at the south western side of Bangladesh to cope up with recent growth and substitute Chittagong Port which is having regular congestions now a days.
4.CPA already brought 5 RTGs (Rubber Tired Gantry) to speed up the port container stacking to free up yard congestions.
5.CPA has plan to bring another 4 RTGs in coming October to speed up port productivity.
 

Air cargo markets continue to surprise
By: AJOT | Aug 01 2017 at 07:36 AM | Air Cargo  
For well over half a year now, we have seen air cargo volumes growing strongly year-over-year (YoY) and USD-yields stopping their 2015-2016 free fall. This trend did not show the slightest tendency of tapering off in June, on the contrary. The volume increase year-over-year (YoY) for the month was 10.5%, accompanied by an increase in Direct Ton Kilometers of 12%, showing that the average distance between origin and destination of shipments continues to increase. And yield worldwide, measured in USD, was 7% higher, a big bonus for airlines and a development we have not been able to report since the recovery of 2010-2011.
In terms of volume growth, the second quarter of 2017 was the best quarter for the industry in almost seven years. The origins Germany and Hong Kong grew most in absolute kilograms. The markets from Turkey to the Middle East & South Asia, from Belgium to Asia Pacific and from Belgium to North America showed the highest volume increase in percentages: 54%, 50% and 46% respectively. In general, load factors increased, as capacity growth was clearly lower than the increase in volumes in all regions.
Whereas the first quarter showed stable YoY yields, Q2 surprised with a remarkable yield improvement YoY of 5.4% in USD, and of 8.1% in Euros. Yield improvements in Q2 were particularly visible in markets with an origin in Asia Pacific. Yields ex China grew even harder than those from other countries in the region. Interestingly, positive yield and volume developments seemed to go hand in hand: from Asia Pacific to North America, growth of each was around 20%, and from Asia Pacific to Europe around 15%. A prominent element in the growth of both volumes and yields between Asia and North America was the modest capacity increase.
The YoY yield performance in Q2 may be explained partly by movements in fuel prices & surcharges: fuel prices were about 10% higher YoY. Past experience has taught the air cargo world that yields usually react to fuel price developments with a time delay. Since the 2016 fuel prices increased strongly between Q1 and Q2, Q2-yields in 2016 could be said to have been relatively low as the rising fuel prices had not yet been fully factored in. Given the increasing practice of net pricing, more research needs to be done on this subject, however.
The month of June also showed how air cargo and geopolitics can be intertwined as the transport of perishables to Qatar increased well beyond the overall growth pattern of this sector of the business. As a matter of fact, June confirmed the trend we reported earlier, which shows general cargo growing faster than most specific product categories; only pharma grows faster than general cargo. It also confirmed that the average shipment size is growing YoY: by more than 8% in June and by almost 7% for the first half of the year.

Frustrated shippers say there’s no end in sight to barge congestion at ports
By Alexander Whiteman, 27/07/2017
https://theloadstar.co.uk/frustrated-shippers-say-theres-no-end-sight-barge-congestion-ports/
Shippers say they feel powerless over the barge congestion crisis in northern Europe – one believing there may be no early solution.
Stanley Black & Decker’s senior transportation manager for EMEA-ANZ, David Lenaers, told The Loadstar congestion at Antwerp had been a problem since last year.
“Although things may have seen a slight improvement over the last month, delays persist,” he said.
“Furthermore, it seems there is no immediate solution in sight – with shippers being left out of the discussion and nobody willing to talk to, or represent, us.”
Dutch barge operator Contargo last week claimed barges were waiting up to five days for container loading and unloading, which had led to the imposition of a €19.50 container surcharge.
Mr Lenaers said delays of five to seven days had become increasingly frequent, with peak periods seeing even more severe congestion.
He said whenever he tried to speak to the inland terminals about the delays, they had directed him to the ocean carriers, who pointed him back to the inland terminals and port authorities.
“They continue to blame each other, but our biggest concern remains the lack of alternatives. We have no other option but road, and this has its own problems,” he continued.
“The roads in Belgium already suffer from heavy congestion and by using trucks we too would be creating bottlenecks at the port of Antwerp, not to mention the costs involved.”
Tool supplier Stanley Black & Decker has its main warehouse in Tessenderlo, between Antwerp and Liege, approximately 5-6km by road from the BCTN-operated Meerhout inland terminal on the Albert Canal.
“Various factors make using the canal the quickest form of transport. We have the goods delivered to Meerhout and then truck them the last few kilometres,” Mr Lenaers said. “If we were to truck them the whole way, it would become a 50km trip, which not only delays delivery but is also prohibitively expensive.
“For urgent deliveries, we have had to do this, and it remains a possibility in future cases where cargo cannot come by barge, but this is not sustainable in the long term.”
Another shipper also told The Loadstar the barge congestion had been problematic.
Mr Lenaers said there were no other ways for shippers to offset its impact, nor could they find a direct correlation between the delays and loss of sales.
Port of Antwerp said it was “well aware” of barge delays, claiming this was down to several factors, including a shortage of dock labour and capacity as a result of the rising volumes of shipping.
One inland terminal operator told The Loadstar congestion in Antwerp had turned into a “real disaster”.

Shanghai port, world’s busiest, grapples with traffic congestion

The world’s busiest container port, Yangshan in China’s business hub of Shanghai, is battling severe congestion wrought by dense fog, higher-than-usual volumes and the aftermath of a shake-up in shipping alliances, ocean carriers and port officials say.
More than 100 container vessels are now waiting outside the port, where the average waiting time at berth last week went up 6.2 per cent, to 18.2 hours, versus the previous week, according to shipping software provider CargoSmart.
CargoSmart said the fog started in early April and the congestion had worsened in the past few days, with few clues to when it might ease. Average delays for ships arriving at the port jumped more than 42 per cent to 53 hours between April 16 and 18 from the start of the month, it said.
“We are making efforts to adjust and coordinate the entire port’s resources and making every effort to provide customers with the fastest service”
“We are making efforts to adjust and coordinate the entire port’s resources and making every effort to provide customers with the fastest service,” said a spokeswoman for Shanghai International Port Group, which first flagged the situation last week in a statement on its website.
German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd told customers in a notice on Thursday that it was monitoring the situation closely and working with the port to minimise delays.
Denmark’s Maersk Line, part of AP Moller-Maersk, also confirmed that some of its vessels had been affected by the congestion.
“We are closely working with Chinese ports to address any operational challenges and we have been able to maintain a very constructive dialogue with our terminal partners,” a Beiijng-based spokeswoman for the company said.
A rejig in global container shipping alliances involving more than 10 ocean carriers, including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Cosco Shipping and Yang Ming Marine Transportation took effect on April 1, causing route adjustments and also putting into operation larger ships. Executives also say demand for ocean freight has begun improving after years in the doldrums, fuelling an increase in volumes and rates.
Shanghai has been the world’s busiest port by container volumes since 2010. It processed 37.1 million boxes last year, up 1.6 per cent from the prevous year, it said in a stock market statement last month.

Source:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/mobile/articles/view/20170424/business-news/Shanghai-port-world-s-busiest-grapples-with-traffic-congestion.646125

Trans-Atlantic Market: OCEAN ALLIANCE &
new service first sailings, Existing services last sailings
Dear Valued Customer,
With April around the corner, we are pleased to share with you the first sailing details of APL’s OCEAN ALLIANCE and new services on the Trans-Atlantic trade, offering:

• Comprehensive coverage between North Europe, West Mediterranean, U.S. East Coast and Mexico Gulf
• Superior transit time from Benelux gate-ways to Mexico and U.S. Gulf
• Leading transit time from Genoa and Valencia to Norfolk and Savannah
• Unrivalled transit time from Le Havre to Norfolk
• U.S. West Coast all water direct service providing direct connections between major North European & Californian ports
• Industry leading transit times from North Continental Europe to U.S. West Coast gateways

OCEAN ALLIANCE and new service first sailings on the Trans-Atlantic trade

Note: 1. Tandem sailing apply for AGX’s first sailing only
Note: 2. Excludes port of Charleston and Savannah
Note: 3. Excludes port of Le Havre, Miami, Houston and New Orleans
Note: 4 & 5. ECX is a non-OCEAN ALLIANCE service. First sailing information is subject to change
As we begin the transition, please find below the last sailings of APL services that will be retired with the commencement of OCEAN ALLIANCE, including those under G6 Alliance.
Last voyage of existing services

We’re moving on 3/24
New address:
21 Drydock Ave, Ste 510W
Boston MA 02210
All phone numbers will remain the same

Container Shortages in Thailand
Please be aware of serious container shortages in Thailand, especially in the Laem Chabang area, caused mainly by the congestion in the terminal which has led to the port authority controlling empty repositions into Laem Chabang.
There is no official notice from carriers for this situation, and carriers are not able to give us a time line for when the situation will be improved. But they encourage customers to pick up containers at Bangkok and Lat Krabang, when possible, where the waiting time will be much less (waiting time can still be 4-6 hours).
It is recommended to place bookings as early as possible to give all parties more time to secure space and equipment locally.

 
Maersk Line, Hapag-Lloyd Among Carriers Subpoenaed in U.S. Price-Fixing Probe
Justice Department investigators crashed a meeting of the world’s biggest container-shipping operators
By
COSTAS PARIS and
 
PAUL PAGE
Updated March 21, 2017 3:42 p.m. ET
U.S. Justice Department investigators crashed a meeting of the world’s 20 biggest container-shipping operators and gave subpoenas to top executives at several companies as part of a probe on price fixing, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Maersk Line, a unit of Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller Maersk A/S and the world’s biggest container-shipping line, confirmed it was subpoenaed during the so-called Box Club meeting in San Francisco last Wednesday. Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd AG also said it was handed a subpoena by Justice Department investigators.
The people familiar with the investigation said that many of the CEOs at the meeting were given subpoenas, while investigators went to the U.S. offices of other smaller operators.
The probe is the latest in a series of investigations by regulators around the world into possible price fixing as the largest ocean carriers have grouped into three major alliances, sharing port calls and vessels in an effort to save billions in annual operating costs. The alliances will begin operations in April and move about 90% of all cargo across the world’s major trade routes.
A Maersk Line spokesman said the subpoena didn’t “set out any specific allegations.” Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said they would cooperate fully with the U.S. authorities.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. News of the raid was earlier reported by the Journal of Commerce.
The investigation comes as industry analysts say ocean freight rates have recovered strongly from a deep trough in early 2016 that sent carrier earnings into a tailspin, and that shipping prices have been rising at a steep pace this year.
London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. said in a recent report that freight-shipping prices from Europe to Asia rose sharply early this month amid reports by shipping lines that ships were full, something Drewry termed “highly unusual” on routes where capacity is usually plentiful.
Patrik Berglund, chief executive of Norway-based container-shipping analysts Xeneta, said freight-shipping prices under recent long-term contracts for moving goods from Asia to the U.S. West Coast are up nearly 50% from rates negotiated in early 2016.
Carriers have been able to raise prices since last year by idling ships, he said, and were helped in part by the collapse of South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. last year. Shipping lines accelerated their withdrawal of ships during the period leading to this year’s Lunar New Year, when China’s production and exports typically slip.
But, Mr. Berglund said, “We don’t see the net reduction of capacity being significant enough for the uptick” in prices.
In the Asia-to-Europe route, the world’s busiest, freight rates have averaged $960 per container this year compared with $695 in 2016, according to brokers in Singapore and Europe.
Operators say anything below $1,400 per box on the route is unsustainable and have repeatedly denied price-fixing allegations.
The low freight rates and anemic trade demand resulted in around $5 billion in combined losses among the top 20 container lines last year, according to shipping executives. Korea’s Hanjin, at one time the world’s seventh-largest container-shipping line, filed for receivership last August as a result of the downturn.
The Justice Department probe is the latest in a series of investigations by watchdogs in the U.S., European Union, China, Australia and South Africa. Many such probes end without prosecutions.
The most recent Justice Department prosecution came last year in a Baltimore case when four global ferry operators pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges and were fined $230 million in total, with some executives getting prison terms.
Then-Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero said in December as the regulatory body approved one of the carrier groupings, called THE Alliance, that the commissioners “will continue to carefully focus on the impacts of the carrier alliance restructuring that is taking place in the shipping industry.”
Write to Costas Paris at costas.paris@wsj.com and Paul Page atpaul.page@wsj.com
Appeared in the Mar. 22, 2017, print edition as ‘U.S. Probes Price Fixing In Shipping.’