Month: October 2024

Articles

High Freight Costs Could Raise Consumer Prices 0.6% in 2025, Says UNCTAD

Global maritime trade rose 2.4% in 2023 to 12.3 billion tons. According to the Review of Maritime Transport 2024 released by the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), shipping volumes are forecasted to grow 2% in 2024, with annual increases averaging 2.4% expected through 2029. However, the report warned that high freight costs and geopolitical

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Articles

Delays and Congestion Hit South American Ports

Schedule disruptions on the North-South trade lane have resulted in port delays, which are spreading across South America’s East Coast. Vessels arriving late from the U.S. are causing delays for cargo leaving ports in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. JOC analyst and CEO of Vespucci Maritime, Lars Jensen, previously warned that the ripple effects from the

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Articles

Montreal Labor Dispute Continues with 24-Hour Shutdown

As dock workers announced a 24-hour strike starting Sunday, 27 October at 7 am, Montreal’s port faces another wave of disruption. The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) has warned that the strike’s impact will extend beyond the one-day stoppage. “We recall that the strike called on 30 September by the union paralyzed operations for three days

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Articles

Airlines Boost Capacity, NRF Projects 3.5% Holiday Spending Growth

Airlines are increasing capacity on Asia Pacific-North America routes as the disruptions from China’s Golden Week eases and preparations for the Christmas rush begin. The U.S. National Retail Federation (NRF) expects holiday spending to rise between 2.5% and 3.5% compared to last year, with e-commerce projected to grow between 8% and 9%, reaching $297.9 billion.

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Articles

No Relief for Shippers with High Freight Rates in 2025

Drewry reports that three million TEUs of new shipping capacity expected in 2025 will not ease the challenges shippers face as disruptions and rising costs are expected to keep freight rates high. Drewry analyzed scenarios with and without potential U.S. East Coast port strikes in January. In both cases, rates are expected to climb. Philip

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Articles

Cascading Effects from U.S. Port Strike to Last Until Mid-November

According to Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, the U.S. East and Gulf Coast port strike that took place in early October, will reduce capacity on certain trade routes and could disrupt cargo frontloading ahead of another potential work stoppage in January. Although the strike was brief, Jensen warned that its ripple effects will continue

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Articles

Montreal Dockworkers Refuse Overtime

The Port of Montreal has warned shippers that an overtime strike by union dockworkers at the Port of Montreal could shut down cargo operations across its four main international terminals. Canada’s Labor Minister, Steve MacKinnon, has proposed appointing a special mediator to restart negotiations and implementing a 90-day cooling-off period during which the longshore union,

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Articles

Trans-Atlantic Shipping Faces Major Capacity Reductions

The three-day strike at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports will worsen existing European port congestion and greatly reduce Trans-Atlantic shipping capacity in October, Sea-Intelligence predicts. The analyst reports there were prior expectations for capacity on Mediterranean and North European routes to drop by -10% to -14% by the end of October. Now, the strike’s

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