China's cabinet has approved the merger of its two biggest shipping conglomerates, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) and China Shipping Group Company (parent of CSCL), in the government's latest effort to make the industry more competitive globally.
Stakeholders at U.S. ports are spending $9bn a year to accommodate the next generation of super-sized container ships. But simply expanding physical infrastructure will not be enough to mitigate port congestion. With fewer vessels moving more containers per call, U.S. ports need to fundamentally change the way containers are moved in and out of terminals.
Retailers, manufacturers and farmers worldwide are protesting a new marine shipping safety rule they say will raise transport costs and cause delays at ports worldwide.
The U.S. is expected to change from a net importer of natural gas to a net exporter, with those exports destined for different regions of the world, especially Asia. It's a development that could see the nation building 100 new ships, a prospect that the Government Accountability Office says could take 30 years.
Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to be essentially unchanged from last year this month as stores bring in the last round of merchandise for the holiday season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
LPG shipping rates are expected to decline from the second half of 2016 as a bloated orderbook for VLGCs - very large gas carriers - fuels fleet growth that will far exceed shipping demand, according to the latest edition of the LPG Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
Tanker shipping rates are set to decline from current highs in 2016 as the trade in crude oil is forecast to decline due to ample stocking, and the fleet is expected to expand briskly, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
The gloomy outlook for the dry bulk shipping market continues to afflict shipowners, and the market is not expected to return to profitability before 2017, according to the Dry Bulk Forecaster report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
New U.S. and Middle East methanol production capacity being added over the next two years will have serious implications for chemical shipping trade flow patterns, according to the latest edition of the Chemical Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
