Drewry's latest Container Leasing report shows that the world's fleet of operationally leased containers grew annually by almost 11 percent throughout 2011-12, although a smaller 6.4 percent is being forecast for 2013, in line with the poorer global trade forecast.
Following negative numbers in four of the last five months, import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to grow 1.7 percent in August over the same month last year and should continue to see gains through the holiday season and the remainder of 2013, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The year is expected to end with a 2.4-percent increase over 2012.
In the coming years, the global shipping industry is expected to decline by five percent to 10 percent, according to Global Shipping Industry 2013 - Forecast, Trends and Opportunities, a report from Taiyou Research.
U.S. imports in July are the highest volume seen in one month since July of 2007. The United States brought in more than 1.69 million twenty-foot containers in July, which is 13 percent higher than last month's volume and 2 percent higher than July of last year.
The latest issue of Drewry's Container Insight Weekly includes an analysis of how a Suez Canal closure would affect the container industry. Were social unrest in Egypt to disrupt shipping through the waterway, Drewry's concludes that there are enough vessels to move goods around Africa.
China is considering a package of regulatory measures to protect the struggling domestic shipping industry against foreign competitors suspected of malicious price manipulation, the China Daily reported on Friday.
The logistics group of Crowley Maritime Corp. is launching a weekly less-than-containerload (LCL) service from Chicago to the Caribbean and Central America.
A series of general rate increases on the Asia-North Europe trade have gone into effect as container shipping lines once again attempt to force freight rates up to break-even levels, amid warnings from shippers and analysts that pricing volatility is set to continue - and possibly worsen.
