THE two leading German container carriers - Hapag-Lloyd (HL) and Hamburg Sud (HS) - are in tie-up talks to create the world's fourth largest container carrier after Denmark's Maersk Line, Switzerland's MSC, and CMA CGM of France.
The two carriers announced on December 18 that they were investigating if and under what conditions a merger would be beneficial to each other.
If the merger materialises, the new HL+HS group will be a giant carrier with a fleet of 250 vessels with an annual revenues of more than EUR10 billion (US$13 billion), according to Germany's Der Spiegel. >More

EUROPEAN shipping demand is a topic that many in the container shipping industry prefer to steer clear of in the current climate.
But regardless of the poor level of demand throughout the region, the fact is that the big ships are still calling at European ports and will continue to call in the coming years in increasing numbers for as long as the lines continue to try and drive down their unit costs.
For the terminal operators in Europe the question is who can best draw these vessels in? >More

TRADE volumes from Asia to Europe and Asia to the Mediterranean have been depressed for well over a year now, and according to the latest data the full year figure for 2012 was mostly likely down a few percentage points from 2011.
If so, this will be only the second time that trade volumes have contracted on the two trades since containerisation began over half a century ago.
But for the Spanish port of Barcelona, it saw an increase in business in 2012 from a surprising source—exports.  >More

Go big or go home: Smaller carriers' days on
Asia-Europe trade are numbered

THE competition for greater economies of scale is truly beginning to heat up in the container shipping industry with CMA CGM’s recent unleashing of its new mega vessel, the 16,000 TEU Marco Polo, on the Asia-Europe trade.
The vessel, the first of three such ships ordered by the French shipping line, will enjoy its status as the world’s largest containership in service for only a matter of months as the industry prepares for the arrival of Maersk Line’s first 18,000 TEU ship in the early part of this year.
The sight of these modern day leviathans arriving at ports throughout the world will no doubt have smaller shipping lines very nervous about their future viability in trades like Asia-Europe and the transpacific…  >More

The challenges of creating stability in a naturally
unstable market

THE container shipping industry is a cyclical beast by its very nature. Not only is it a seasonal business with peak and slack seasons, it is also highly dependent on a stable global economy, and it is at the mercy of the purchasing decisions of its key players.
It also is impacted by the rises and falls in operating costs, the chief of which is bunker fuel.
When all these factors are combined in a negative way it can be a very messy, miserable business to be in. It also just happens to be the position that the market is in today, particularly on the Asia-Europe trade… >More