PORT OF NEW ORLEANS GETS $226M FOR INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL
Efforts to build an international container terminal at the Port of New Orleans capable of handling ultra large container vessels got a boost Monday from the federal government. The port announced it was awarded an additional $226.2 million grant to assist in constructing the $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal (LIT), a project that aims to position the port as the top international container gateway in the Gulf of Mexico. The Louisiana International Terminal will be capable of handling 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually and ultra large container vessels that travel through the Panama Canal once it is completed around 2028.
COVID REVISITED: EMPTY CONTAINER CONCERNS GROW AS RED SEA SHIPPING CRISIS DRAGS ON
The Houthis traded fire with fire once again yesterday, claiming they had carried out a strike on an American navy heavy load ship called Ocean Jazz, something disputed by the US military who in turn took out some Houthi military installations in Yemen in attacks coordinated with UK counterparts. With the Red Sea shipping crisis showing no sign of clearing up, shippers are becoming increasingly anxious about the availability of empty containers, a potential supply chain headache last witnessed during the covid pandemic. This week CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest liner, announced an empty container imbalance surcharge of $100 per unit on top of similar equipment surcharges out of Turkey to the Mediterranean and North Africa announced last week. ]
HAPAG-LLOYD ACQUIRES UK’S ATL HAULAGE CONTRACTORS
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has struck a deal to acquire UK-based ATL Haulage Contractors. The Hamburg-headquartered liner is adding a fleet of 120 owned modern trucks with an average age of under two years and a network of over 100 additional trucks from dedicated subcontractors for an undisclosed sum. Established in 2008 as a private company, ATL will retain its brand and remain independent and run by the existing management team. The road haulier based at London Gateway and Southampton operates from all major ports in the UK. The acquisition by the Rolf Habben Jansen led carrier comes hot on the heels of CMA CGM’s move to buy UK logistics firm Wincanton for nearly $720m in cash.
CONTAINER RATE SURGE SLOWS AS CHINESE NEW YEAR APPROACHES
According to Linerlytica the rate escalation has “peaked” and carriers are now looking beyond the Chinese New Year order elevation to the post-festival slack, following a 126% increase in the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) since the end of November 2023. Linerlytica’s view that “Despite a widely expected correction, freight rates are still expected to retain most of its recent gains after the Chinese holidays as the shortage of both vessel capacity and container equipment would still persist,” are not held by all analysts, however.
CHINA CARGO AIRLINES POSTPONES START OF FIRST MIAMI SERVICE
China Cargo Airlines has postponed until April plans to launch scheduled freighter service to Miami, which will make it the first Chinese carrier to operate between the city and mainland China. Worldwide Flight Services had announced in December that the all-cargo airline would begin three weekly flights this month, utilizing Boeing 777s, from its base in Shanghai to Miami International Airport and had awarded WFS a three-year contract to process shipments between aircraft and logistics customers. The inaugural flight has been pushed back until April 2, said Indira Almeida-Pardillo, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, without giving a reason for the delay.
