The multimodal network news digest - issue #30

Ocean carriers are agreeing on huge discounts for the new deals as contract rates are trending towards spot rates. Although many of the contracts are yet to be finalized, it is believed that they will be fixed around current spot prices.  

This prosaic state of the freight market is forcing companies to scrape their vessels. MSC has joined this list for the first time in almost 4 years. However, it is most likely that overcapacity is inevitable because the new orderbook is huge and demand is stagnating. This is especially true when the desire to be the largest company overtops. Despite all risks, MSC orders another 10 dual-fuel 11,500 teu in China. 

Non-operating containership owners are experiencing drops in daily hires. Meanwhile, they hope that the break up of the 2M alliance will have a positive impact on them due to a drop in network efficiency.

Shippers that count on lower rates for LTL will be probably disappointed. Although the prices have softened a bit, overall, the LTL sector performed much better than truckload and intermodal providers thanks to continuing pricing discipline by the carriers. 

Port Iskenderun is suffering critical damages after the earthquake. Companies temporarily suspended new export and import booking to avoid collapse. 

Routes and services 

• MSC is expanding its Sentosa loop, providing a direct connection from the Indian ports of Mundra and Nhava Sheva to the US west coast gateways of Long Beach and Oakland. 
• MSC will also restart its Dragon service connecting Asia to Israel, Italy and the south of France. The rotation will be Shanghai – Ningbo – Yantian – Singapore – Ashdod (HCT) – Naples – La Spezia – Genoa – Fos sur Mer – Gioia Tauro – King Abdullah – Singapore – Shanghai.
• The rail connection between the port of Rotterdam and Frenkendorf and Niederglatt is now direct and no longer passes Neuss in Germany. 
• Lithuania is closing the Stasylos-Byenyakoni rail border with Belarus because of many smuggling cases. It also cancels Cross-Border Cooperation Program with no explanation why. 

Other 

• Following the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train near Pittsburgh, labor unions are calling for better safety measures and oversight of the authorities. Otherwise, other dramatic incidents are inevitable. 
• Foreign ships at Chittagong experience delays as they wait for the waiver certificates that take too long to be issued. 
• Despite the rumors that the government may force HMM to acquire Asiana Airlines for divestment, for now, it only remains in the talks. 
• 2,038 teu Wan Hai 288 and 920 teu Resurgence collided on the Long Tau river in southern Vietnam.
• Following the massive derailment in Ohio, it is Norfolk Southern that may have to pay for cleanup costs. More investigations are on the way. 
• European combined transport fell by 6.4% in the last quarter of 2022 due to increased costs. 
• All Finish ports are suspended because of the Union’s strike. 

These are only several changes that occurred in more than 250 bn freight rates across 25 million routes with more than 1 million market players. Want to share some news about your company, services, and routes? Just post them on MAXMODAL, a multimodal network that digitally connects routes and rates worldwide to automate sales and operations across container transportation & logistics industry. Join to innovate.