The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revised its 2013 global industry outlook downwards to $11.7bn on revenues of $708bn. Airline performance continued to improve in the second quarter, but at a slower pace than was expected with the previous projection (in June) of $12.7bn. This reflects the impact on demand of the oil price spike associated with the Syrian crisis and disappointing growth in several key emerging markets.
U.S. imports in August are the second-highest month for twenty-foot container volume in 2013, according to Zepol, a trade intelligence company. The United States imported nearly 1.61 million TEUs in August, which is 5% less than July's 1.69 million, but a half a percentage higher than August of last year.
All of the ports on the East Coast "have to get in the game," Vice President Joe Biden said recently, and get ready to accept larger cargo ships that will come through an expanded Panama Canal by 2015.
After a strong start in the first quarter, container volumes in the trans-Atlantic trade have declined, and average vessel utilization has dropped sharply, eroding freight rates. As a result, container lines are likely to start canceling vessel sailings in October, according to Drewry.
The global containership fleet larger than 500 TEU, currently idle, has reached its lowest level since October 2011, according to a report from Alphaliner.
The Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, says the $5.2bn widening of the Panama Canal is more than 60 percent complete. The first four of 16 gates for the canal's third set of locks marked a construction milestone. Locks are nearly 50 percent finished; concrete work is two-thirds done; and water-saving basins are about 40 percent complete.
Drewry's latest annual report on global and international container terminal operators shows that the sector remains dynamic and profitable, but that numerous changes are also taking place, including the challenge of growth on two fronts - in container demand and in ship sizes.
A mixture of financial necessity and commercial reality is further forcing ocean carriers to return to providing core services only. Shipping lines are still being squeezed out of providing home-grown integrated logistics services. This is evidenced by Maersk's recent news that it has entered into an agreement to sell the assets of its U.S. trucking subsidiary, Bridge Terminal Transport.