MSC RESUMES FAR EAST – BALTIMORE SERVICE
The containership Dali, which struck the bridge causing its collapse and the death of six workers, was refloated earlier last week allowing for the main channel to the port to be reopened. Starting from the first voyage provided by YM Trust, it is scheduled to call Yantian on 28 May 2024 and arrive at Baltimore on 13 July 2024. The rotation will return to: Yantian – Xiamen – Ningbo – Shanghai – Busan – New York – Norfolk – Baltimore – Colombo – Tanjung Pelepas. The collision on 26 March by the Maersk-charted containership resulted in a number of boxship calls at the port being suspended.
PEAK SEASON COMES EARLY AS CONTAINER RATES CONTINUE TO SOAR
In monthly container market report by The Drewry World Container Index (WCI), published before this week’s rate numbers, analyst Maritime Strategies International (MSI), said the unexpected rally outside the “traditional” peak season had caught shippers by surprise. The increases also filtered down to secondary trades as well as the main routes. MSI said the increase were most likely driven by a combination of the ongoing Cape Of Good Hope diversions, a stronger-than-expected demand rebound and weather delays in major Chinese ports. “This confluence of factors is the most likely explanation for a freight rate rally outside of the “traditional” peak season but it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions. The barrage of General Rate Increases (GRIs) by major liners in April and the 1st and 15th of May have also contributed to the spot freight rate surge,” MSI said. The analyst sees US and European shippers as being in a restocking phase and that is possible that fears of supply disruption, especially in the US, during the summer months has led to a small “early peak season”. MSI expects to see further GRIs in June. Meanwhile Drewry said it expected the spike in spot freight rates to lessen in the next few months.
FORMER DP WORLD EXEC TO HEAD SSA MARINE’S CONTAINER TERMINAL BUSINESS
Gauthier will leverage his extensive executive level international port and logistics operations experience to oversee SSA Marine’s container terminal concessions across the United States, in Manzanillo, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Colombia, and Vietnam. Gauthier is a member of the Seattle-based executive team, where he reports to Uffe Ostergaard, CEO of Carrix, the parent company of SSA Marine. Gauthier joins SSA Marine from DP World, where he served as CEO of DP World Peru. He started with the company in 2019 as CEO of DP World Ecuador. Prior, Gauthier spent seven years as CEO of PortSynergy Group, the largest container terminal operator in France..
BORDERLANDS MEXICO: MEXICAN PORTS’ 2024 CARGO VOLUMES UP 18% THROUGH APRIL
Seaports across Mexico moved a record 2.95 million twenty-foot equivalent units during the first four months of 2024, according to statistics from Mexico’s General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine. That represents an 18.2% year-over-year increase. Mexico’s two largest Pacific Coast ports — Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas — recorded a 14.5% y/y increase to 1.27 million TEUs and 35% y/y increase to 711,148 TEUs, respectively. The Pacific Coast port of Mazatlan reported a 39% y/y increase during the first four months of 2024, with 12,221 TEUs. Mexico’s Gulf Coast ports reported a total 795,337 TEUs from January through April, a 14.3% y/y increase. The Port of Veracruz was Mexico’s busiest Gulf Coast container port during the period, totaling 424,949 TEUs, a 21% y/y increase. The second-busiest Gulf Coast port was Altamira, totaling 288,187 TEUs, a 7.5% y/y increase.
DHL EXPRESS ENDS CAPACITY AGREEMENT WITH MESA AIRLINES
DHL Express has terminated its flying-services agreement with Mesa Airlines one year before the end of its term because of reduced cargo demand, the Phoenix-based regional carrier disclosed in its quarterly earnings report on Monday. Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ: MESA) said that the partners “mutually agreed to wind down cargo operation as of February” and that pilots from its cargo business are retraining to operate Mesa’s Embraer E-175 passenger jets. DHL will reimburse Mesa for costs associated with the operation’s dissolution. Mesa’s last flight for DHL was on March 11, according to Flightradar24. Cargo Facts reported in March that Mesa had stopped flight operations for DHL.