SHIPYARD capacity could be slashed by as much as 40 per cent across the world and the industry would still be able to meet the demand for new ships for 2015, senior BIMCO analyst Peter Sands told HKSG Group Media.

This is just how badly oversupplied the market is today.

Certainly the world’s shipping lines can relate to the predicament of excess supply versus a shortage of demand…
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FRENCH retailer Carrefour had a plan for a promotion in its European outlets to sell a range of products all for one euro apiece.

The operation would involve shipping 27 million pieces from China to be eventually distributed to stores in 30 countries throughout Europe. This presented a massive logistics challenge.

They had no idea how to do it.

It all started with the company's marketing team presenting the global sourcing division with its promotion proposal. The promotion in itself was nothing out of the ordinary. A number of retailers big and small have similar promotions the world over. What makes Carrefour's case different was that most companies that do this source the items domestically...
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AS containerships become larger and with only a few major ports capable of handling the biggest, shippers have come to question whether ship size does them more harm than good.

Along the east coast of the United States, whose hinterland ranges to the Mississippi River, lies 70 per cent of American consumers, the world's biggest retail container shipping market.

But east coast US ports are only beginning to dredge channels to the depths needed for 14,000-TEUers that are expected to transit the Panama when fully expanded in 2015, which some say will result in more awkward hub and spoke transshipment operations slowing deliveries yet again...  
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Early forecast points to stronger 2013 after
disappointing 2012

CONTAINERISED trade grew an estimated 4.1 per cent year on year in 2012 to 157 million TEU as Asia-Europe volumes contracted and the transpacific posted only marginal growth, according to the latest data from Clarkson Research Services.

The growth figure fared most unfavourably against the 5.9 per cent increase in supply. This is even worse when we consider that most of last year’s incoming tonnage was bound for the Asia-Europe and transpacific trades. But despite the poor showing last year, Clarkson expects a slightly improved picture for the container shipping industry in 2013…
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