News
Rise in protectionism will benefit forwarders and 3PLs as SMEs seek competitive support
Small and medium-sized companies hoping to compete against larger corporations in international markets will increasingly rely on logistics partners to help them navigate rising trade barriers and cross-border transaction costs, economist and author Marc Levinson tells the latest episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club. Levinson also questions whether the...
Trump tariff threat: Another reason why US shippers are moving cargo early in 2024
“I don’t know if you could call it an early peak season, but certainly everybody has moved their shipping schedules up,” Jon Monroe, President, Jon Monroe Consulting, tells the latest episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club. The threat of major hikes in US import tariffs, combined with the fear of...
Shippers hail transformational potential of new Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd ‘Gemini’ partnership promising 90% service reliability
The container shipping schedule reliability targets promised by Gemini Cooperation, the new Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd partnership which will start operating services in February 2025, have the potential to be transformative for customers and carrier alliances, according to leading shippers. “I think it’s doable and I think it will then...
Shippers turn to US West Coast terminals to avoid threat of union action and Panama and Suez Canal container shipping disruption
Some container traffic that migrated to US Gulf and East Coast ports in recent years is now being switched back to West Coast gateways by retailers and forwarders desperate to avoid supply chain disruption. Low water on the Panama Canal and the de facto closure of the Suez Canal...
Shippers should expect more service disruption in 2024 as container lines seek to manage oversupply and limit losses, says leading shipping analyst
Philip Damas, Managing Director of Drewry Shipping Consultants and Head of Drewry’s Supply Chain Advisors practice, also told the latest episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club podcast that shippers negotiating new long-term ocean freight contracts should carefully scrutinise surcharges as well as rates. Container lines will use a variety...
Container shipping lines have over-ordered vessels, but vertical consolidation strategies make sense, claims former chairman of Evergreen and Yang Ming
Container shipping CEOs have killed the golden goose by ordering too many ships, and also might need to re-examine the type of vessels best suited to a more regional world dominated by geopolitical tensions, according to the former chairman of two of the world’s leading carriers. Bronson Hsieh, former...
Container shipping: Navigating turbulence in 2024