Newsletter – April 19, 2021

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

North America responsible for the world’s container shortages

splash247.com
New analysis from Danish consultancy Sea-Intelligence shows just how much North America is to blame for the severe equipment imbalances challenging the global container shipping industry.
The continent’s comparatively slow handling of containers has long been a source of supply chain pain and a leading cause of empty container shortages in Asia, but never to the extent recorded today. Read more here.

Carriers need to box clever with equipment as new and used prices soar

theloadstar.com
Ocean carriers are doing whatever it takes to hold onto chartered ships, and are investing heavily in container control systems to maximise their box fleets.
During a press briefing this month, Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said current market conditions had increased container usage time by some 20%, compared with pre-pandemic. Read more here (login required).

Ever Given: arrest and GA – what happens to vessel and cargo next?

theloadstar.com
The Suez Canal Authority’s decision to arrest the Ever Given, following the six-day closure of the waterway, as leverage for its $916m insurance claim against the vessel owner, is likely to further delay the General Average process.
Jose Guerrero, president of independent claims consultancy Virtual Claims, told The Loadstar one of the key elements of GA was that “the goods and the ship must successfully reach the destination, otherwise, there is no general average”. Read more here (login required).

‘Chaotic’ supply chain pushed up supplier prices: MSC

supplychaindive.com
Dive Brief:
Recent delays in the “chaotic” global supply chain contributed to MSC Industrial raising costs last month in response to its suppliers’ increases, the company said on a Q2 earnings call.
Port congestion, severe weather and COVID-19 disruptions have impacted product availability as demand has picked up, which contributed to shortages, MSC leadership explained. “What’s happening is there’s a lot of product scarcity and that’s beginning to lead to significant inflation,” said MSC CEO Erik Gershwind. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

US consumer demand for services not goods will keep freight rates high

theloadstar.com
Consumers in the United States, and the country’s low retail inventories, could keep freight rates elevated, even post-pandemic.
According to Alan Murphy, CEO & partner at Sea-Intelligence, a resurgence of consumer spending on services in favour of physical goods, won’t necessarily put a dent in the record freight levels seen during the Covid-crisis. Read more here (login required).