Major shipping lines amass record US$41.6b in Q2 EBIT
MAJOR shipping lines recorded a combined second-quarter EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Tax) of US$41.6 billion, without taking into account the EBIT of French shipping giant CMA CGM, according to a Sea-Intelligence report.
"This is not only higher than the combined Q2 EBIT of the past 11 years but is also right at the top with the 2021-Q4 and 2022-Q1 EBIT," said Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence.
"Once CMA CGM's EBIT is included in the list, 2022-Q2 would likely become the most profitable quarter in the last decade. CMA CGM who have only issued a press release so far, which does not list their EBIT.
"We should stress that we do not mean this as a value judgement on whether shipping lines making money is a good or a bad thing, and we note it has generally been an unprofitable business for the past decade or so; we are merely pointing out the unprecedented nature of the current market dynamics," Mr Murphy added.
The report said that the 2022-Q2 EBIT/TEU figure of each of these shipping lines dwarfs each of the previous years, with the latter hardly relevant in context of the outsized EBIT/TEU numbers. These figures are backed by a year-on-year increase in freight rates in 2022-Q2.
Mr Murphy pointed out that "this level of profitability, however, might not continue into Q3, due to the fast-falling freight rates, and the slowdown in global demand".
Evergreen's second 24,000 TEU behemoth delivered
MAJOR Taiwanese shipping firm Evergreen Marine has taken delivery of the second 24,000 TEU containership from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
The ultra-large boxship, named Ever Aria, is a sister ship to Ever Alot, which was delivered to the container shipping company in June this year. Both boxships have been flagged in Panama. The duo has claimed the title of the world's largest containerships, reports The Netherland's Offshore Energy.
Ever Aria is part of nine vessels being built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China to ABS class.
The 24,000 TEU containerships have been independently designed by Hudong Zhonghua, and they are fitted with a myriad of green features including high efficiency, energy-saving, and safety solutions in line with Tier III emission requirements.
The vessels have a bulbous bow design, large-diameter propellers, and energy-saving ducts to ensure low energy consumption. They are also fitted with hybrid scrubbers.
The 400-metre megamax-24 type ship will serve ports between Asia and Europe. It can load more than 24,000 standard containers at a time, and the maximum stacking layer can reach 25 layers, which is equivalent to the height of a 22-story building. According to its builder, it can carry 10 per cent more weight than a 23,000 TEU containership.
One more vessel from the series is expected to be delivered by the end of this year, while another five ships are at different stages of construction.
Shanghai port breaks another record with new high on daily container volume
DAILY container handling volume at Shanghai port has surpassed 160,000 TEU, hitting a new high.
Last year's highest daily container handling volume at the port was 158,858 TEU reported in August 2021.
During January and August this year, Shanghai port posted a container volume of 31 million TEU, a slight year-on-year increase of O.2 per cent, accounting for 64.6 per cent of the whole year's target.
Earlier this month, Shanghai port launched operation of its Northeast Asia Empty Container Transportation Centre. Having a handling capacity of 3 million TEU per year, the centre is expected to further strengthen Shanghai port's leading position in global container shipping market, reports UK's Seatrade Maritime News.
Second shipper seeks damages of US$600,000 from CMA CGM
US New Jersey-based shipper Marine Transport Logistics (MTL) is alleging that CMA CGM has withheld five of its ocean containers for several months overseas without reason and is seeking US$600,000 in damages to compensate for storage fees charged and lost business, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).
The filing is the latest made by a shipper against a major carrier following the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA-22) being signed into law June 16. In the wake of OSRA-22, the FMC has made it easier to submit a complaint without the costly need for processing fees and attorneys.
A non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO), MTL, with a staff of 30, says that in March it asked CMA CGM to reroute five containers to Port of Bremerhaven in Germany because of the war in Ukraine. The cargo, however, ended up in the port city of Constanta in Romania, where the boxes remained for months despite the company's repeated requests to send them to the Germany, the NVO said in its complaint.
MTL said it attempted to follow up several times in March and April with CMA CGM and alleges the carrier didn't respond and "failed to advise as to the nature of the extent of the delay in Constanta." On April 21, CMA CGM sent the first demurrage bills linked to the containers idling in Constanta, according to MTL.
MTL says CMA CGM responded in June that the containers would be delivered to Bremerhaven in July. It is not clear from the complaint where the containers are now, but MTL says they have not to date been released by CMA CGM and that storage fees continue to accumulate.
Alla Solovyeva, president of MTL, declined to comment and instead deferred questions to her attorney, who did not respond to a request for comment. CMA CGM also declined to comment, according to IHS Media.
China's Shandong sees foreign trade up 18pc in Jan-Aug
EAST China's Shandong province saw its foreign trade reach CNY2.18 trillion (about US$315 billion) in the first eight months of this year, up 18.2 per cent year on year, local customs said.
In August, the province's imports and exports rose 15.2 per cent from the same period last year to CNY292.08 billion. Of the total, exports grew 16.6 per cent to CNY181.18 billion while imports rose 13.1 per cent to CNY110.9 billion during the month.
The province's general trade maintained a stable rise. Mechanical and electrical products, labour-intensive products and agricultural items all maintained relatively rapid growth during the period, according to the customs, reports Xinhua.
Robust growth in China-Europe freight train services in August
CHINA-EUROPE freight train services surged by 18 per cent in August, compared to the same month last year, hitting a record-high 1,585 trips, according to the China State Railway Group Co Ltd, reports Xinhua.
About 154,000 TEU of goods were shipped through the freight trains in August, up 19 per cent from a year ago, according to the company.
During the first eight months of the year, the number of China-Europe freight train trips rose 5 per cent year on year to 10,575. The trains transported a total of 1.02 million TEU of goods, an increase of 6 per cent from a year ago.
CMA CGM continues to fight plastic pollution in the Philippines
FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM and the social enterprise Plastic Flamingo (PLAF), announced the renewal of a 3-year partnership to collect and upcycle 600 metric tonnes of plastic waste from the streets, coastlines and the heavily plastic polluted River Pasig in Metro Manila.
This marks an annual plastic collection of 200 metric tonnes, up from 120 metric tonnes that the CMA CGM-PLAF partnership blocked from leaking into the ocean in the past year. The two parties launched their partnership in 2021 to fight plastic pollution in the Philippines, where single-use plastics are a major source of ocean pollution.
"The renewed partnership adds resources to PLAF's capacity to collect and upcycle riverine plastics which require more rigorous cleaning and handling to separate them from marine debris before the upcycling process," according to a CMA CGM statement.
"With this, riverine plastics joins the hard-to-recycle plastic sachets on the CMA CGM-funded recycling line to be transformed into eco-planks and boards among others. As PLAF markets these products that are used to build shelters, boardwalks and furniture, the social enterprise is widening its product range to stimulate market demand for recycled plastic products; and enhance the circular plastic economy."
Laurent Olmeta, CEO of CMA CGM Asia Pacific Ltd said, "Our renewed partnership with the PLAF demonstrates our commitment to reduce plastic waste pollution in Better Ways. We are already committed not to ship plastic waste across the oceans. Our extended collaboration will take the CMA CGM Group further in our cause to protect our environment and oceans; and empower our communities."
Hactl keeps winning accolades; four-time winners of AFLAS awards
HONG Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) has been named "Best Air Cargo Terminal Operator - Asia", in the 2022 Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) Awards.
It is the fourth time Hactl and its subsidiary Hacis have won an AFLAS award, since the competition was launched in 2015.
The AFLAS Awards honour leading service providers including air and shipping lines; airports and seaports; and logistics, 3PLs and other associated industry professionals. The awards are intended to recognise leadership, consistency in service quality, innovation, customer relationship management and reliability.
Hactl was one of four finalists in its category, having been short-listed by the organisers based on pre-determined criteria. Hactl then received the most votes from the more than 15,000 readers of Asia Cargo News.
Amy Lam, executive director and CFO of Hactl commented: "It is extremely gratifying to have won this award, especially following the ongoing challenges related to the pandemic, which have adversely impacted our operations from time to time.
"We are therefore very grateful to all those in the logistics business, who have recognised our determination to maintain the highest possible service standards in the face of extreme difficulties."
Maersk Air Cargo applies for US permit
DENMARK's Maersk Air Cargo has applied for a US Foreign Air Carrier Permit to take over services to the country from the now-defunct Star Air (Denmark) (Copenhagen Kastrup).
In its application filed on September 8, the Danish cargo specialist requested the amendment to an existing permit granted to Star Air, wherein Maersk Air Cargo will simply assume the existing authorisation, reports Switzerland's ch-aviation,
"AP Moller - Maersk A/S ("Maersk") has recently undergone a corporate restructuring in which Maersk Air Cargo A/S was created as a new subsidiary company of Maersk Aviation Holding A/S. Maersk Air Cargo is the new operating entity for Maersk's air cargo shipping service. The applicant intends to use the Maersk Air Cargo name on its services operated to and from the US," the airline said.
Currently, Maersk Air Cargo operates exclusively within Europe.
The Danish shipping giant decided to incorporate a new in-house cargo airline in April 2022. The new unit was formally independent of Star Air, which has hitherto operated Maersk's air cargo services, and underwent separate certification.
CE Peter Corfitsen has since confirmed to ch-aviation that all assets were moved from the Star Air AOC to Maersk Air Cargo AOC as of June 5, 2022, although Star Air continued to be the AOC holder for another two months until Maersk Air Cargo received its authorisation - DK.AOC.088 - on August 1, 2022.
The airline currently operates five B767-200(ERBDSF)s, six B767-200(PC)s, one B767-200(SF), one B767-300(ERBDSF), and two B767-300Fs, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.
It also subcontracts the operation of one recently delivered but not yet inducted B767-300F (with two more to come) to Florida's Amerijet International (M6, Fort Lauderdale Int'l) on a CMI basis.
Qatar Airway's next generation to define air cargo future
QATAR Airway's next generation is expected to define the future of the air cargo industry, reports London's Freightweek.
Qatar Airways Cargo demonstrated agility, innovation, and flexibility in the face of the Covid crisis. It is this positive disruption within a crisis that Qatar Airways Cargo intends to apply to all aspects of its business.
"The future is in every decision we take - be it in technology, sustainability, diversity, the new generation of employees joining our company, our products and services, and how we approach our business in general. Every move we make has consequences, and we consciously endeavour to ensure that it yields the best results for our customers and the regions we serve," said Qatar Airways chief officer cargo Guillaume Halleux.
"We have a responsibility as the world's leading airline, and with Next Generation, we are taking our industry to the next level. There has never been a better time to set entirely new standards. We are shaping the air cargo industry of tomorrow - one that combines digital efficiencies with a unique, professional human touch. Next Generation has a clear vision to develop employees' talents, to fully utilize digital potential, and to take a fresh, innovative approach to the business of air cargo."
Qatar Airways Cargo will be unveiling digital enhancements and new products in the course of this year. The Next Generation launch is accompanied by a strong new logo in the airline's corporate colours.
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