Global demand for ocean freight container shipping has hit a record level, surpassing peak-Covid demand, but leaving shippers with a big question about the traditional peak season.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Recent data from Xeneta and Container Trade Statistics revealed that the 15.94m teu transported via ocean in May overtook the previous record of 15.72m teu reached in May 2021, at the height of the pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Xeneta&rsquo;s senior shipping analyst, Emily Stausb&oslash;ll, said: &ldquo;More containerised goods are being shipped by ocean than ever before, at a time when available capacity is impacted by diversions around Africa due to conflict in the Red Sea and severe port congestion in Asia and Europe.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
&ldquo;This is a perfect storm of pressure on ocean supply chains, which has resulted in the chaos of recent months.&rdquo;<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
Xeneta said the record-breaking level of global demand had been driven primarily by volumes out of the Far East.&nbsp;China exports reached an all-time high of 6.2m teu in May, accounting for a whopping 39% of the month&rsquo;s reported global container trade.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Ms Stausb&oslash;ll added: &ldquo;Given we are already seeing record-breaking volumes ahead of the traditional peak season in Q3, you can understand why shippers are so concerned.&rdquo;<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
The big question, said Ms Stausb&oslash;ll, was whether record volumes now would mean reduced volumes in the traditional peak season.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
&ldquo;Numerous factors come into play, not only of underlying consumer demand, but also nervous shippers front-loading imports and the potential for further tariffs on imports from China.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
&ldquo;While this combination could keep demand high through the next few months, there must be a limit to how long the record levels of demand can last,&rdquo; she said.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
Meanwhile, carriers are still doing what they can to respond to the demand &ndash; One source reported last month that idle tonnage had reached pandemic-level lows of 0.7%. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
Indeed, said Ms Stausb&oslash;ll: &ldquo;In many respects, it is impressive that global shipping networks have been able to transport this enormous volume of containers under such challenging circumstances.&rdquo;&nbsp;
And yesterday, Alphaliner revealed that vessel sale and purchase deals had surged in the first six months of the year, &ldquo;as carriers and NOOs reacted to the red-hot charter and freight markets&rdquo;.&nbsp;
Over half a million teu of container tonnage across 141 vessels changed hands during this period, according to Alphaliner, averaging 23 ships a month changing hands. This compares with an average of 15 a month in H2 23.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Despite an increase in freight rates from September, there was no immediate reaction in the second-hand market, with many carriers believing the crisis to be a short-term issue,&rdquo; explained Alphaliner.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Realisation that there was no quick solution saw a change of heart from January onwards.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;

New container volume high provokes major concerns over peak season

US East and Gulf Coast port workers are prepared to &ldquo;hit the streets&rdquo; on 1 October, according to the president and chief negotiator of the International Longshoremen&rsquo;s Association (ILA), Harold Daggett.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
The current master contract between the ILA and US Maritime Alliance (USMX) expires on 30 September, and&nbsp;Mr Daggett warned that the employers were &ldquo;running out of time&rdquo; to negotiate a new agreement.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
&ldquo;Only 80 days remain before the end of our current contract and we are waiting on USMX,&rdquo; he said on Friday.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
Mr Daggett said the ILA members were &ldquo;100 percent behind him&rdquo; and willing to &ldquo;hit the streets&rdquo; on 1 October if the union&rsquo;s contract demands were not met.
The ILA cancelled master contract negotiations with the USMX on 10 June, after union members took issue with APMT/Maersk&rsquo;s &ldquo;auto gate system&rdquo;, which autonomously processes trucks,&nbsp;&ldquo;violating our current master contract,&rdquo; explained Mr Daggett.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
The automated system was initially identified at the port of Mobile in Alabama, but according to the ILA it is also being used at other ports. The union has refused to meet with the USMX &ldquo;until the auto gate issue is resolved&rdquo;.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
The ILA said it had observed an &ldquo;increasing number of IT personnel on marine terminals&rdquo;, and that APMT and Maersk&rsquo;s IT departments in Charlotte, North Carolina, were &ldquo;encroaching on their jurisdiction&rdquo;.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
At a July 2023 convention, Mr Daggett asked: &ldquo;Who the hell is a foreign company like Maersk to come on to American soil and build fully automated terminals?&nbsp;This foreign company Maersk tries to shove fully automated terminals down our throats and for what reason? To eliminate good paying American jobs, ILA jobs.&rdquo;<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
The union is also waiting for the results of an audit of jobs created out of new technology &ndash; a report it has &ldquo;been anticipating for almost two contract periods&rdquo;.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
Mr Daggett emphasised that the union would not &ldquo;entertain any discussions about extending the current contract&rdquo;, or on getting help from outside agencies to &ldquo;interfere with negotiations&rdquo;, which, he said,&nbsp;&ldquo;includes the Biden administration and Department of Labor&rdquo;.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
When, and if, the USMX resumed negotiations, the ILA said, it expected shipping companies &ldquo;to recognise the contributions ILA longshore workers made during the pandemic, when ports remained open, allowing companies to record billion-dollar profits&rdquo;.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
A strike across the east and Gulf coast ports would cause major supply chain issues, especially with west coast port workers not accepting diverted cargo in solidarity.&nbsp;<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:384,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">&nbsp;
A brief sliver of hope of avoiding a strike came at the end of June when the ILA announced it had reached agreement with USMX member South Carolina Ports, in Charleston &ndash; but the master contract agreement still hangs in the balance.&nbsp;&nbsp;

US East and Gulf Coast dockers ready to 'hit the streets' in 80 days

Since the 1 July implementation of a series of peak season surcharges (PSS) and new FAK (freight all kinds) levels, the largest east-west container trades have seen a week of double-digit spot freight rate increases.
After several weeks in which most of the focus was on soaring spot rates on the Asia-Europe trades, this week it was the turn of the Asia-North America trades to post the largest increases.
Drewry&rsquo;s World Container Index reading for its Shanghai-Los Angeles leg grew 12%, to finish at $7,472 per 40ft, while Xeneta&rsquo;s XSI&rsquo;s Asia-US west coast leg recorded a rate of $7,648 per 40ft.
Meanwhile, the WCI&rsquo;s Shanghai-New York leg grew 17%, to end the week at $9,158 per 40ft, and the XSI tracked a similar trend to $9,146 per 40ft.
The WCI&rsquo;s Shanghai-Rotterdam leg also saw double-digit growth, rising 10% to reach $8,056 per 40ft, with the XSI&rsquo;s Far East-North Europe growing a similar amount, recording a rate of $7,897 per 40ft yesterday.
However, it is also clear that many forwarders and shippers are paying well above the quoted indexed rates in order to secure space in an increasingly strong demand environment, a situation that &ndash; on Asia-Europe trades at least &ndash; is now beginning to impact major box shippers with significant amounts of contracted volumes.
Freight forwarders in Europe were told&nbsp;major shippers were being forced to pay space guarantee surcharges on at least a part of their volumes.
&ldquo;Importers and big BCOs are now beginning to see the effect, with space getting ever tighter,&rdquo; one forwarder said.
&ldquo;Even if their carrier has maintained its full commitment in terms of volumes &ndash; every carrier is down 30% to 40%, in terms of space &ndash; so from the middle of July, retailers that were on contracts are now having to accept $3,000-$4,000 increases on at least a portion of their boxes to get them loaded.
&ldquo;Some of the multinationals are buffered, but we are now talking to all sorts of importers that previously wouldn&rsquo;t give us the time of day; now they are calling us to see if we have any loading options &ndash; and it&rsquo;s almost accepted that higher rates are here and paying them is the only way to get cargo onboard vessels.
&ldquo;This will remain elevated until Golden Week,&rdquo; he added, which appeared to be a common consensus this week.
Another said that spot rates on Asia-North Europe had already breached $10,000 for many customers, and claimed the elevated pricing would continue until China&rsquo;s Golden Week holiday, which begins on 1 October &ndash; and could even persist until the second quarter of next year.
&ldquo;I think this is an early peak season, but I also believe this will continue to Golden Week &ndash; after speaking with customers they are mindful of the current challenges and do not want to be in a situation where they have no stock for Christmas, and are forecasting strong orders until at least then.
&ldquo;Should the peak last that long, there is only four-to-six weeks before we start to ramp up for the peak just before Chinese New Year, so realistically the market will not start to come down significantly until Q2 next year, even with extra capacity coming in,&rdquo; he said.
Another believed there could well be a further 50% increase between now and Golden Week.
&ldquo;Demand in July and August is quite strong, so we are predicting that a ceiling of $15,000 is not unrealistic,&rdquo; he said adding that there was very little vessel space for at least the next month.
&ldquo;We are now booking four weeks ahead for some retailers and it&rsquo;s the soonest we can do. If a booking is released, 9 August is the first ship I can get onto.&rdquo;

Spot rate surge to continue past Golden Week, with surcharges causing more pain

Singapore&rsquo;s transport minister said in parliament yesterday that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and port operator PSA were in discussions with liner operators to optimise vessel arrival times and operations to improve turnaround.
Chee Hong Tat said nearly all containerships bound for Singapore were arriving late, as the Red Sea crisis continues to disrupt shipping schedules.
So far this year, 90% of boxships calling at the world&rsquo;s second-busiest port were not berthing on time &ndash; the 2023 average was 77%, he said.
Using a just-in-time system could allow delayed ships to refuel and replenish supplies while waiting to berth.
Mr Chee admitted that although containerships were staying longer in Singapore to load and discharge cargo, which increased the waiting time for incoming ships, the anchorages were not crowded.
The minister said: &ldquo;Many of the vessels are arriving within a short window, compounding the issue by causing a &lsquo;vessel-bunching&rsquo; effect. As a result, both the demands and complexity of container handling at our port have increased.&rdquo;
Ships had to wait for as long as a week to berth in May, compared with half a day in normal periods.
EconDB data shows that, currently, Singapore has the highest container traffic among container ports, with 72% of ships bound for the city-state delayed. In the next seven days, 256 ships are due to arrive. In the past two weeks, outbound and transhipped containers had a dwelling time of around 10 days.
Mr Chee added that his ministry was working with port operator PSA to ramp up capacity in anticipation of more ship arrivals.&nbsp;On Monday, the first of three new berths at Singapore&rsquo;s new megaport in Tuas estate began operations, and two more berths will open in October and December.
If there is no let-up in vessel arrivals, the opening of more berths could be brought forward.
Opening the new berths is in addition to the reactivation of shuttered facilities in downtown Singapore &ndash; the Keppel and Tanjong Pagar terminals.
Singapore is also the world&rsquo;s busiest container transhipment port, and many liner and feeder operators transfer containers here for onward transportation to elsewhere in Asia to expedite ships&rsquo; return to Europe.
Coincidentally, Singapore is the world&rsquo;s largest bunkering port, in terms of sales volumes, with a record high of 51.8m tonnes of marine fuels sold in 2023.

With almost all box ships arriving late, Singapore acts to reduce time in port

Yang Ming chief financial officer Peter Su said today he believes container shipping has become so chaotic that it is hard to explain port omissions and skipped sailings to shippers
Mr Su said: &ldquo;Ships have had to detour round the Cape of Good Hope because of the Red Sea situation and this has hindered operations, because it has tightened the availability of ships and containers.
&ldquo;This is beyond any shipping company&rsquo;s control.
&ldquo;The market has become chaotic to the point that it&rsquo;s impossible to explain skipped sailings. Obviously, arrivals in South-east Asia have been delayed because of port congestion, and for liner operators, omitting ports is a last resort.&rdquo;
Alphaliner&rsquo;s data shows that so far this, 1.48m teu of newbuildings has been delivered, out of 2.2m teu expected. However, cargo demand has still exceeded supply, with almost all available ships in use.
Mr Su said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been estimated that the Red Sea crisis will reduce supply by 15% to 20%, compared to capacity growth of circa 10% this year. Every Asia-Europe string now needs two to four additional vessels, at least.
&ldquo;The inadequate number of vessels has affected revenue from Asia-Europe services. We must continue to pay attention to geopolitics and inflation. With the Q3 peak season, bookings for July are as high as for this month, and demand is obviously higher than in the same period last year. However, geopolitical tensions can&rsquo;t be predicted and how long the market will stay prosperous must be reviewed every month.&rdquo;
And Mr Su said the current upswing in freight rates could be a short-term occurrence, as there were &ldquo;too many uncertainties, as nobody can predict when the Houthi attacks will stop&rdquo;.
Linerlytica analyst Tan Hua Joo said&nbsp;that despite talks of a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a market normalisation would not happen in the short term.
He said: &ldquo;The correction will only come about when ships return to Suez and the supply shortage is resolved. This could be months away.&rdquo;

Chaos now rules the container shipping market

Attacks have continued against merchant vessels transiting the Red Sea, despite missile strikes by British and US forces, with a UK minister saying the industry must adapt.
Yesterday saw Iran-backed Houthi militia targeting a US-flagged vessel and the US military launching strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen.
However, the US strikes, the fourth in as many days, part of the joint UK-US Operation Prosperity Guardian, have seemingly failed to restore the faith of vessel owners.
According to data compiled by Alphaliner, by Monday, 338 vessels had diverted around the Cape of Good Hope, 192 on westbound voyages and 146 heading east.
Added to this has been rising regional tension, exacerbated by Iranian strikes against militants in Pakistan and retaliation.
Forwarder association Fiata has called on governments and key industry decision-makers to develop tools for global monitoring and to provide a coordinated effort to facilitate maritime transport in the region, as surcharges continue to drive costs up.
&ldquo;Approximately 18 shipping lines have stopped or rerouted on the waterway due to ongoing attacks, with increased transit times of around 12 days via the Cape of Good Hope,&rdquo; it said.
UK business minister Nusrat Ghani yesterday said there were limits to what governments could do, urging businesses to adapt to the continuing uncertainty.
Ms Ghani told a UK newspaper: &ldquo;It is first and foremost for business to manage supply chains, with government intervention reserved for those areas where it is necessary, such as in cases of market failure.&rdquo;
Despite this, the business minister unveiled a programme, which she said would seek to assist through the removal of import barriers, &ldquo;where feasible&rdquo;.
And it seems carriers have acted to try and decrease the delays from rerouting around the African coast, Alphaliner noting those on westbound sailings had increased vessel speed by about 1.5 knots, to an average of 16.5 knots, which it said, &ldquo;helps to make Cape of Good Hope Asia-Europe sailing just &lsquo;fast&rsquo; enough for ships to arrive exactly one week later than via their original routing&rdquo;.

No relief for carriers in Red Sea as attacks continue and tension rises

Carriers appear to have given up hope that the threat to vessels transiting the Red Sea will end any time soon, and are starting to re-route back northbound through the Suez Canal, to cross the Mediterranean and around the Cape of Good Hope, costing time and money.
The major container lines had paused all routings through the Suez Canal into the waterway after a series of attacks in the Red Sea against by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, seemingly in support of Hamas.
This included a number of Asia-bound vessels that had transited the canal but had yet to reach the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and were ordered to drop anchor and await further instruction &ndash; however, vessel tracking sites show some are now on the move.
Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen, said: &ldquo;This shows carriers do not believe the situation will be resolved in two weeks.&rdquo; He explained that the repeated attacks against vessels had left operators with two options: first to simply wait it out; and the alternative to revert vessels north, back through Suez and across the Mediterranean before moving around Africa.
He added: &ldquo;The fact that ships are now northbound towards Suez shows the carriers do not believe the situation will be resolved soon.&rdquo;
Last night, Hapag-Lloyd became the latest to confirm the rerouting, following Friday&rsquo;s attack on its vessel&nbsp;Al Jasrah. The carrier believed sailing through the Red Sea was no longer safe and the risk to its crews &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo;.
It added:&nbsp;&ldquo;We will reassess the situation in the Red Sea regularly and reinstate our services when the situation in the area is deemed safe and secure for our ships and crews and your cargo onboard.&rdquo;
Data provided by Portcast said rerouting via Africa would add seven days to South Asia-US sailings, with Asia-Europe sailings going via the Cape of Good Hope, adding 10 days.
Added to all of this are increased costs for shippers, the rerouting likely push transit and fuel costs north of $2m per vessel.
Sources suggested the additional costs may not leave carriers &ldquo;too disappointed&rdquo;, given their recent struggles with weaker rates. The Red Sea crisis has already added 44% to China-Mediterranean rates, according to Freightos.
As to the scale of trade effected, analysts claim there is close to 1m teu on vessels at anchor in the Red Sea awaiting instructions.
For the Egyptian economy, for which the Suez Canal is the largest cash generator, carriers not using it will be a concern, with the country already battling challenging financial conditions.
One source said there could be a short-term bump from vessels sailing back through and paying another toll, but there &ldquo;wouldn&rsquo;t be many&rdquo;, as some ships &ldquo;may just wait it out&rdquo;.

No early end to Red Sea crisis in sight as carriers re-route

Asia-North Europe freight rates are predicted to soar.
This is due to the impact of some westbound voyages being paused and others being diverted around Africa to avoid increasing attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels on merchant shipping approaching the Suez Canal.
The escalating security crisis in the Red Sea region has led some ocean carriers to re-route ships from Asia to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope, avoiding the canal, which will add at least another 10 days to voyage times.
Moreover, carriers that have instructed their ships to pause voyages until further notice, anticipating an international US-led task force restoring a safe approach to the waterway, could ultimately see transit times for these vessels extended even further.
And the impact on supply chains will be compounded by the bunching of ships at ports, landside congestion and shortages of equipment, reminiscent of the March 21 grounding of the&nbsp;Ever Given, blocking the Suez Canal for six days.
Several weeks, if not months, of supply chain disruption look likely, with ships and containers in the wrong places in the build-up to Chinese New Year, which starts on 10 February.
A straw poll of a few&nbsp;shipper contacts this morning showed they were only really certain about one thing: that rates will skyrocket.
&ldquo;The lines are already pushing up their rates from Asia quite significantly from 1 January, this will just cement those GRIs and more,&rdquo; said one UK-based shipper.
Otto Schacht, until September EVP of sea logistics at Kuehne + Nagel, has seen it all before and also predicts spot rates &ldquo;will move up quickly&rdquo;.
&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s not forget what happened two years ago,&rdquo; said Mr Schacht on social media, &ldquo;especially equipment shortages; empty containers will become the biggest headache.&rdquo;
And Grant Liddell, MD of UK-based Metro Shipping, was out of the blocks quickly today, with a summary of the situation for the forwarder&rsquo;s customers.&nbsp;He said it was too early to determine the impact on international shipping, but freight and insurance costs were &ldquo;almost certain to rise&rdquo;.
&ldquo;We have very limited intelligence from the shipping lines, but as we learn how individual vessels and routes are affected we will advise customers accordingly.&rdquo;
Indeed, forwarders will need to use their best endeavours and alternative intelligence methods to track the movement of re-routed or delayed vessels from Asia, and hope that the standard of status updates and advisories from carriers has improved.
This especially relates to carrier decisions to omit a destination port and &lsquo;over-carry&rsquo; cargo to be relayed later. In some cases in the aftermath of the&nbsp;Ever Given&nbsp;incident, ports and port agents were the last to be advised of an omission, resulting in unnecessary added confusion within the supply chain.
Nevertheless, although there are bound to be delays, North European container hubs are in a better position than in 2021 to cope with vessel bunching and big spikes in volumes across their terminals, as yard utilisation levels are well below what they were back in the spring of that year.

Costs will skyrocket as westbound voyages are paused or diverted

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French company CMA CGM took a similar step a day after Danish shipping giant Maersk and German transport company Hapag-Lloyd suspended Red Sea journeys.
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The decision comes after attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
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They say they are targeting ships travelling to Israel.
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The Houthis have declared their support for Hamas after Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza following the 7 October Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 people and saw 240 more taken hostage.
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Since then, Israel has killed more than 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Hamas health officials say.
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The Red Sea is one the world's most important routes for oil and fuel shipments.
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But the Houthis have been stepping up their attacks, using drones and rockets against foreign-owned vessels.
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They have also been firing drones and missiles towards Israel. The US said on Saturday its guided-missile destroyers had shot down 14 Houthi drones in the Red Sea.
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In its announcement, MSC said the situation in the area had become "serious".
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It said that its container ship MSC PALATIUM III was attacked on Friday as it was transiting the Red Sea. There were no injuries to the crew, but the ship had been taken out of service.
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Its ships were being re-routed via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
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In its statement, CMA CGM - the world's third-largest shipping company - said it had instructed all its container ships there "to reach safe areas and pause their journey in safe waters with immediate effect until further notice".
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Maersk, the world's second-biggest shipping firm, has described the situation as "alarming".
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"Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," it told the BBC on Friday.
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The four companies that have now suspended operations in the area comprise four of the top five in the world - and shipping experts say the decisions are going to be costly.
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"It's security to the crew, to the ship itself and also insurance policies. Premiums are now going sky high if they can get insurance at all, so it's going to have serious implications on stock levels, on costs and the whole dynamics of supply chains," Sue Terpilowski from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, which represents companies concerned with supply chains, told the BBC.
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The added crewing, fuel and insurance costs are all likely to be passed on to consumers, says BBC business reporter Vivienne Nunis.
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The Bab al-Mandab strait - also known as the Gate of Tears - is a channel 20 miles (32km) wide, and known for being perilous to navigate.
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It sits between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.
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It is the route by which ships can reach the Suez Canal from the south - itself a major shipping lane. Avoiding it means vessels must take much longer routes, for example navigating around southern Africa.
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About 17,000 ships and 10% of global trade pass through it every year. Any ship passing through Suez to or from the Indian Ocean has to come this way.
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More big shipping firms stop Red Sea routes after attacks

Singapore is looking to leverage its air and sea connections by reinventing itself as a manufacturing hub, as the fourth industrial revolution gathers pace.
A slew of modern manufacturing industries are building facilities in the South-east Asia hub, with Singapore eyeing the 680m-strong population of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market.
Jaisey Yip, VP cargo business at Changi Airport, told&nbsp;The Loadstar&nbsp;at this week&rsquo;s Transport Logistic in Munich: &ldquo;We aim to develop a strong domestic manufacturing base to fill cargo capacity, and we aim to be a hub for South-east Asia connecting to the world.&rdquo;
Singapore is aiming to increase exports by 25% and manufacturing 50% (by value) by 2030, as the government ramps-up its Green Plan for net zero emissions by 2050.
Government investment for infrastructure developments, as part of the plan, comes from $35bn of green bonds to be issued by 2030, with an inaugural $1.8bn 50-year bond issue last August.
Funding and investment, it is hoped, will encourage technologically advanced industries in the robotics, digital, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors to invest in Singapore. It&rsquo;s a strategy that has already seen some success.&nbsp; Companies building manufacturing facilities in the island state include French pharma company Sanofi, BioNtech, Hyundai and semiconductor producer ASM International.
To meet the aims Changi Airport is refurbishing its logistics facility and developing an air cargo village to be operational by the mid-2030s, increasing annual handling capacity from the 3m tonnes to 5.4m tonnes capacity with the cargo village, with last year&rsquo;s volumes amounting to 1.85m tonnes.
According to Ms Yip, three key initiatives will ensure new manufacturing and supply chain connections meet climate change goals.
&ldquo;Logistics is about speed and delivery,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;and we need to ensure we have a robust cold chain capability.&rdquo;
That will require staff training in new processes and Changi Airport is helping key participants to meet CEIV pharma certification standards for handling temperature-critical cargo.
Nest&eacute; has announced a 1m tonne-a-year sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant, so &ldquo;Changi Airport is now SAF ready&rdquo;, said Ms Yip, adding: &ldquo;We believe there will be a shift to SAF by the airlines.&rdquo;
However, to put that into context, Singapore Airlines alone used about 29m tonnes of jet fuel in 2021/22 fiscal year.
In addition, the airport is electrifying all its ground handling vehicles and equipment with energy from the national grid, much of which will be renewable energy imported from Laos and solar and hydrogen power from Indonesia.
That imported energy aims to reduce the country&rsquo;s current reliance on LNG, from which 95% of its energy requirements are currently met. A major component of LNG is methane which is a particularly potent greenhouse gas.

Singapore and Changi Airport eyeing a busier – and greener – future

After two years of record profitability, liner industry ocean carriers are busy collating their earnings from what has been an extremely challenging first quarter.
The tailwind effect of unexpired higher contract rates is likely to see most lines achieve respectable results for Q1, but thereafter it may be a different story.
According to Blue Alpha Capital founder John McCown&rsquo;s analysis of 2022 container shipping line earnings, the cumulative net profit for the carriers that report their results, and an estimate for those that do not, hit a new record of $215bn, following2021&rsquo;s &nbsp;$148bn.
However, Mr McCown said, earnings in the final quarter of last year had fallen sharply, 34%, on the previous year, for a cumulative net income of $34.7bn.
Cosco (including OOCL) was the only carrier to show an improvement in its Q4 earnings on the previous year, recording a net profit of $4.9bn, while, in particular, Zim, saw its earnings slump from $1.7bn to $417m and Yang Ming saw its net profit in Q4 slump to $483m, from $1.9bn the year before.
Mr McCown expects the diminishing earnings trend to continue, although overall, the liner industry should remain in the black.
His current estimate is for net carrier income this year to achieve &ldquo;a highly respectable&rdquo; $43.2bn, from $14.9bn coming in Q1, $10.8bn in Q2 and $8.7bn in each of the third and fourth quarters.
&ldquo;Obviously, actual first-quarter results will provide significant additional factual information on how the balance of the year will play out,&rdquo; said Mr McCown.
Indeed, there is so much uncertainty on the global economic outlook, and resulting consumer demand, that the outlook from carriers is especially murky this year.&nbsp;For instance, Maersk&rsquo;s operational profit of $31bn last year has been scaled back dramatically for 2023, to a modest $2bn to $5bn.
After Hapag-Lloyd&rsquo;s $18.3bn ebit for 2022, its forecast for this year is between $2.1bn and $4.3bn.
The German carrier&rsquo;s CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen, told investors and analysts last month that in terms of transported volumes &ldquo;the year has not got off to a great start&rdquo;, and that he expected freight rates to fall further.
And OOCL&rsquo;s parent, OOIL, was also circumspect on the outlook as it announced its 2022 full-year results last week.&nbsp;It said that if inventories were reduced and the economic outlook improved, then there &ldquo;could be an uptick&rdquo; in the second half of the year.
&ldquo;There can, however, be no certainty about that outcome, given the extent of perfectly valid concerns about the future impact of inflation, interest rate rises and broader economic geopolitical instability,&rdquo; said OOIL.
Mr McCown acknowledged that, having arrived at this forecast for this year by &ldquo;taking out my crystal ball and buffering it with all the current data before me&rdquo;, as well as extending the current industry trend lines, he expects &ldquo;to revise my estimate, perhaps materially, as the actual 2023 quarters unfold&rdquo;.

It's a ‘crystal ball’ outlook for ocean carrier earnings this year

Shippers are concerned that maritime discussions on decarbonisation are shaping up to result in &ldquo;the mother of all BAFs&rdquo; for shippers, as carriers will seek to pass on the costs of using sustainable fuels.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is set to meet in July and is widely expected to increase its ambition of a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 to 100%, and will also discuss market-based measures, such as a carbon levy.
To achieve the new target, the maritime sector will need to invest heavily in the technology needed, with some of these processes already under way, with methanol testing, ammonia and LNG all a possibility.
Costs related to decarbonisation are difficult to estimate, but Drewry Shipping Consultants director Philippe Damas, in a&nbsp;Linkedin&nbsp;discussion on the EU Emissions Trading System, said:&nbsp;&ldquo;Drewry estimates that on the major Asia-North Europe route, these combined policy measures will increase bunker costs and emission-related taxes or allowances from $312 per 40ft container for very low-sulphur fuel oil today to $568, or about $458/40ft using methanol, a low-carbon fuel.&rdquo;
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Drewry believes methanol-powered ships could have a cost advantage over conventional power of $110/40ft as early as 2026, due to the carbon charges.
However, Mr Damas cautioned: &ldquo;It is still very difficult to estimate the exact costs of the new environmental regulations: as noted by the ITF in its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/carbon-pricing-shipping.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;on carbon pricing in shipping, as this would largely depend on market conditions and bunker fuel price over time.&rdquo;
James Hookham, director of the Global Shippers&rsquo; Forum (GSF), told&nbsp;The Loadstar&nbsp;discussions for market-based measures presented a clear risk that shipping lines would pass on any tax directly to their customers by means of a bunker adjustment factor (BAF).
&ldquo;What we will have is the mother of all BAFs. Carbon taxes won&rsquo;t work unless there is a penalty on the carriers too, they cannot be allowed to simply pass on those charges,&rdquo; said Mr Hookham, who added that the introduction of low-sulphur fuel regulation three years ago saw the costs all borne by shippers and none by carriers.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been burned like that before,&rdquo; he noted.
Mr Hookham pointed to the World Shipping Council&rsquo;s view, which he described as a &ldquo;package of sensible measures&rdquo;.&nbsp;According to the WSC, new regulations should apply equally to all, there needs to be a standard agreement on what constitutes a &lsquo;green fuel&rsquo;, which includes life cycle emissions, and market-based measures must provide a cost incentive for the lines to use low-carbon fuels.
Forwarders have a similar position. It is for the lines to pay for the carbon they use not their customers, says Clecat director general Nicolette van der Jagt.
&ldquo;Shippers will pay more and the cost of shipping will increase &ndash; that&rsquo;s a no-brainer &ndash; but the type of fuel used by the carrier is their choice, so any carbon tax should be borne by the line,&rdquo; she said.

The 'mother of all BAFs' looms for shippers as green targets advance

E-commerce businesses outsourcing their logistics to fulfilment companies for online shopping has been a source of growth for 3PLs in the past year, even as container trade normalised to pre-Covid levels, according to forwarder representatives.
A spokesperson for Slovakian 3PL Fulfillment by FHB Group told&nbsp;The Loadstar&nbsp;outsourcing had grown particularly in the European market.
&ldquo;We handle logistics for clothing companies and electronics retailers, for example, from Asia that want to sell their products to Europe, but that is complicated to do from Asia.
&ldquo;They outsource part of their logistics to us, and we store electronic [goods] and deliver orders. The cross-docking system is used by many e-commerce businesses now.&rdquo;
Fulfillment by FHB Group&rsquo;s 2021 revenue was up 42% year on year, to $14.29m.
Alibaba logistics unit Cainiao&rsquo;s chief strategy officer and GM (South-east Asia and Europe), William Xiong, told&nbsp;The Loadstar&nbsp;the company had grown even as container volumes and freight rates fell by offering tailored supply chain solutions, such as deliveries for fragile goods and expanded doorstep deliveries with free assembly.
In the three months ended 31 December, Cainiao&rsquo;s revenue went up 27% year on year, to $2.57bn.&nbsp;Mr Xiong added: &ldquo;The enduring shift towards online shopping has driven a major uplift in demand for logistics services and subsequent business growth.&rdquo;
Asia Pacific&rsquo;s e-commerce market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.24% from 2022 to 2027.
Mr Xiong estimates that an annual increase of $630bn in Asia Pacific&rsquo;s online sales requires approximately 500 new warehouses a year to maintain seamless distribution networks. During Alibaba&rsquo;s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival last year, peak daily doorstep deliveries exceeded 18 million.
And Japanese forwarding group Nippon Express&rsquo;s spokesperson said despite the correction in freight rates, the company had handled more containers because of higher e-commerce sales.
&ldquo;The shipment volume of office equipment such as mobile PCs and related miscellaneous goods grew, thanks to the increase in working from home (mainly from Asia to Europe and the US). To maintain the supply chain, the number of customers (mainly manufacturing industry) who have shifted from direct use [shipping lines] to [NVOCCs] has increased,&rdquo; he said.
Nippon Express is also developing warehouse and delivery operation systems to support its e-commerce-related customers.
The Fulfillment by FHB Group spokesperson added that he believed e-commerce merchants were unlikely to stop outsourcing fulfilment.&nbsp;He said: &ldquo;Companies still want to sell in Europe, but they don&rsquo;t need to worry about distribution while they outsource part of their logistics.&rdquo;

Online shopping boom and outsourcing continues to power 3PL growth

<a href="https://theloadstar.com/oocl-vessel-has-near-miss-in-panama-canal-as-new-charges-come-in/">OOCL Utah</a>&lsquo;s near-collision on Sunday with a Panama Canal lock gate&nbsp;suggests a tragic and costly accident is waiting to happen, say experts.
<a href="https://theloadstar.com/wp-content/uploads/vid-20230307-wa0001-1.mp4">Video footage</a>&nbsp;shows a fore-positioned &lsquo;alpha&rsquo; tug almost crushed between the Hong Kong-flagged containership and the canal&rsquo;s Agua Clara lock gate. There was no aft-situated &lsquo;delta&rsquo; tug to stop the vessel.
Representatives of the Panama Canal Captains and Deck Officers Union told&nbsp;The Loadstar&nbsp;how a lack of procedures and under-resourcing by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) left pilots &ndash; paid per vessel &ndash; calling the shots.
&ldquo;They [pilots] want to finish fast, because the more assignments they get, the more money they make. The fault cannot be attributed to the ship.
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&ldquo;[The pilot] was told the [stern] tug was coming from another job&hellip; but chose not wait. There are no procedures and no regulation, so [the pilot] can do whatever he wants.
&ldquo;This is the closest call we&rsquo;ve had so far in a train of incidents over the past two years. In one, a tug was put aground&hellip; another put on the rocks and out for repair for three months.&rdquo;
They claimed pilots often try to tackle the canal at speeds in excess of what is safe for tug crews. In the case of the alpha tug on Sunday: &ldquo;We can say the crew was in jeopardy because of the enclosed space and the size of the ship,&rdquo; they said.
&ldquo;If the ship strikes the tug &hellip;it&rsquo;s going to go under. There are no ladders, [the tugs themselves] are deathtraps&hellip; but if you fall in the water there, you&rsquo;re going to get sucked under.&rdquo;
If there had been a collision with the canal lock gate it could have put the waterway out of action for months, causing supply chain disruption approaching the scale of the&nbsp;Ever Given&nbsp;incident at Suez in March 2021. In the Panama Canal, the lock gates &ldquo;&hellip;are not like the ones we had on the old locks. These move on rails, and if a gate gets out of that rail because a 100,000 tonne ship moving at 2.5 knots hit it, it&rsquo;s going to get stuck. And we do not have the equipment to lift that gate right now.
&ldquo;Actually, we do not know how they could fix that problem. So, it would be a big disruption for global supply chains.&rdquo;
As well as a speed limit and a list of procedures for pilots that would specify tugs fore and aft, the union is pushing for better resourcing and better-equipped tugs, saying there are not enough crew to cover the needs of the canal.&nbsp;Crews work in excess of 16 hours a day, seven days a week, with no mandated rest periods, one source claimed.
&ldquo;There is no maintenance of the tugs, there are few personnel&hellip; we are not immune to fatigue.&rdquo;
The ACP has so far declined to respond to requests for comment.

Near-collision in Panama Canal shows 'an accident is waiting to happen'

High inflation, elevated energy costs, raised interest rates and a lack of labour are the forecasts for 2023, and the logistics industry will need to navigate a safe path through this forest of perils.
That was the economic outlook in a nutshell, described by Koen de Leus, chief economist at BNP Paribas-Fortis, at yesterday&rsquo;s Logistics for Europe conference in Brussels.
The event was jointly run by Clecat, the European Shippers&rsquo; Council and European Logistics Association.
Speaking via a video link following a cycling accident, Mr de Leus used a picture of a previous mishap to show that this year&rsquo;s calamity was not as bad as two years ago. The moral of his story, he said, was that things will get better.
Inflation has peaked, believed Mr de Leus, and may settle and hover around the 2%-3% mark, and while US interest rates are rising, the expectation is that they will settle at around 5%, with the European bank rate just below that.
Inventories are now at their highest levels ever, with stocks at 95% full, according to Mr de Leus, who suggested the geopolitical risks to energy supplies, mainly the war in Ukraine, would keep energy prices high through next year. However, he added, the pandemic had shifted the logistics paradigm from just-in-time to just-in-case, and he expects warehouses will be restocked in a development he called &ldquo;robust redundancy&rdquo;.
Moreover, Mr de Leus said companies were increasingly looking at &ldquo;friend-shoring&rdquo;, establishing alternative supply chains that could continue operating should regular supply lines fail.
Alessandro Pitto, MD of forwarder Casasco &amp; Nardi, highlighted the difficulties his company was facing.
&ldquo;It is impossible to find people,&rdquo; he said was the key problem, &ldquo;attracting people, teaching them the right skills and retaining them&rdquo;.
He said it was important to align the needs of the company with the expectations of prospective staff, in a &ldquo;candidate-driven market&rdquo;. According to Mr Pitto, statistics show four out of 10 candidates offered jobs change their minds, while 24% quit jobs because they are not comfortable with their company.
Project44&rsquo;s chief industry officer, Bart de Muynck, argued that visibility in the market was key to negotiating logistics challenges and offered a slightly upbeat note with his view that &ldquo;while the future doesn&rsquo;t look so bright, that means there&rsquo;s lots of opportunities &ndash; particularly in sustainability&rdquo;.
Sustainability was an issue picked up by Robert-Frans Niers, group director at plan &amp; deliver for bakery goods shipper Zeelandia. He said Zeelandia wanted to share in the green transition and that this would be better for customers and would attract staff.
Staffing levels are the key challenge for the coming year, but according to Mr Muynck this will be affected by consumer demand, which, as always, can be volatile. But he said that, through greater supply chain visibility, &ldquo;consumers know companies are sitting on inventory and they&rsquo;re waiting for another Black Friday&rdquo;.

Light at the end of the supply chain tunnel

Since the pandemic began, complaints of carrier misdeeds have circulated across the industry and around the globe.
In the US, President Biden&rsquo;s administration decided to try and protect US importers and exporters with the introduction of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act 2022 (OSRA22).
The legislation gave new powers to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and, in one of the first cases to be brought, one of the world&rsquo;s biggest carriers, Maersk Line, and its subsidiary,&nbsp;<a href="https://theloadstar.com/florida-shipper-sues-claiming-maersk-flouts-the-law-to-rake-in-profits/">Hamburg S&uuml;d</a>, are accused by former customer OJ Commerce of failing to meet contractual obligations, collusion and retaliation.
The case could cost millions in fines for the carriers, but should the collusion allegation be proved, the effects on the container shipping sector could be far-reaching. Some competition authorities are already concerned over consortia bloc exemptions which allow lines to form alliances.
The 2M, Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance all operate legally in the US and other jurisdictions, including Asia and Europe.
Much of the evidence submitted to the FMC has been redacted in documents made public, and OJ Commerce CEO Jacob Weiss&nbsp;claims this evidence points to a breach of the regulations regarding consortia and could be very embarrassing for certain lines.
Furniture shipper OJ Commerce is requesting that this evidence is disclosed. According to Mr Weiss: &ldquo;The court gives very specific criteria for what qualifies for redaction, and clearly embarrassing emails do not qualify.&rdquo;
He claims he has proof of collusion between Maersk and MSC.
Maersk told&nbsp;The Loadstar&nbsp;it would be giving its evidence to a hearing on 8 December.
&ldquo;Our update will be informative,&rdquo; said a spokesperson, but would not comment further.&nbsp;
Industry figures are watching the case with interest. According to Shabsie Levy, founder and CEO of digital forwarder Shifl in New York, the case will be a watershed in carrier-customer relations. He added: &ldquo;It will be a big factor in how carriers operate, going forward.&rdquo;
Further down the line there are more cases, confirmed FMC commissioner Carl Bentzel.
&ldquo;We have seen a surge of cases and, in fact, needed to bring in a new administrative law judge to handle case load volumes. Hopefully, carriers are already taking steps to clean up shipping practices not conforming to new standards imposed by OSRA 22.&rdquo;
Many of these cases have similarities to the proceedings brought by OJ Commerce, he added.
&ldquo;The issue of failure to adhere to shipping contracts has been a massive problem during the pandemic,&rdquo; explained Mr Bentzel. &ldquo;Claims of retaliatory action in response to potential legal action have not been as well published, but we have received allegations.&rdquo;
Mr Weiss claims Maersk management told him his problems could be resolved if he contracted all his annual freight to the carrier, which would qualify OJ Commerce as a major customer with a dedicated sales representative, and would ease the supply chain problems for the company.
However, according to Mr Weiss, Maersk pulled out of the negotiation at the last minute, leaving OJ Commerce with no contract, forcing the company onto the spot market.
Mr Weiss said he had had no desire to start a legal battle and&nbsp;that the whole episode had been a shock.
He claims that as a result of its lack of a contract, OJ Commerce&rsquo;s extra costs for shipping between 4,200 and 4,700 containers resulted in a hearing that could cost the line between $63m and $71m in fines.

Maersk 'test case' could shift balance of power in container shipping

China&rsquo;s manufacturing sector has shrunk for the third month in a row, with Beijing&rsquo;s zero-Covid policy causing more logistics disruption and a dip in ocean shipment volumes.
The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers&rsquo; Index (PMI) came in at 49.2 for October, the third consecutive month the number has been below 50, indicating a contraction in activity.
Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said: &ldquo;Manufacturing activity was still weighed down by Covid-19 outbreaks and consequent tightening of prevention and containment measures.
&ldquo;Both output and new orders saw further declines, though at a slower pace, as Covid controls dragged business activity and consumer demand down. Overseas demand also continued to weaken, albeit again at a slower pace.&rdquo;
Furthermore, delivery performance worsened slightly for the fourth straight month, Caixin noted, with some surveyed companies citing &ldquo;limited production capacity at vendors, which led to delays&rdquo;.
In Zhengzhou, China&rsquo;s zero-Covid policy is wreaking havoc on Apple supplier Foxconn. The Taiwanese manufacturer employs some 200,000 workers across the Zhengzhou complex known as &ldquo;iPhone city&rdquo;. but many are fleeing to their home towns to escape &ldquo;inhumane closed loop&rdquo; restrictions, according to reports.

China's manufacturing continues to shrink

The UK has signed up to a &lsquo;green corridors&rsquo; agreement alongside Norway, the Netherlands and the United States to bring about zero-emission shipping routes between these countries.
The agreement, made at the COP27 conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh, opens up the possibility of carbon-free routes between several countries in the North Atlantic.
It also includes a separate agreement between the UK and US to launch a Green Shipping Corridor Task Force, a collaborative research and development effort.
Both Norway and the UK are well-placed to be able to offer green power to vessels through shore-power connections, thanks to an abundance of renewable energy. But while Norway is a market leader, home to dozens of shore power installations either built or in the pipeline, the UK remains &ldquo;20 years behind&rdquo; in offering shore power at ports, the UK Chamber of Shipping said earlier this year.

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