ShippingWatch

2024 was a turbulent year for freight forwarders. This year, new challenges await. New alliances among container carriers, new governments, possible port strikes and geopolitical conflicts will be especially significant in 2025. The big shifts in shipping alliances involve German Hapag-Lloyd joining with Maersk to form the new alliance Gemini Cooperation from Feb. 1. “This shift would not only impact ocean freight schedules but will likely also shift how freight flows inland,” predicts Mike Short, head of C.H. Robinson’s global freight forwarding business, in a written interview with ShippingWatch. #shipping #freight #oceanfreight #containershipping #logistics Hapag-Lloyd AG A.P. Moller - Maersk https://lnkd.in/dZV3Yn_u

The crisis in the Red Sea, normally a busy transit route for traffic through the Suez Canal, is bad for many things, but not for shipping companies’ earnings. The Red Sea crisis is one of five serious issues facing container shipping companies in 2025. “It’s going to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride in 2025, to put it nicely, and the Red Sea will be the big uncertainty factor,” says shipping analyst Lars Jensen, partner and founder of Vespucci Maritime, to ShippingWatch. #shipping #freigth #oceanfreight #containershipping https://lnkd.in/dXM2rRfX

APM Terminals has big ambitions for Latin America’s largest port, Port Santos, which, according to Maersk’s port company, could be crucial for Brazil’s flexibility and capacity to compete globally. APM Terminals is investing approximately BRL 1.9 billion (USD 307 million) to expand the capacity of the port terminal. But that’s not nearly enough, says Leonardo Levy, investment director at APM Terminals, Americas, in a written interview with ShippingWatch. "To realize its potential as a regional hub, we will need to double the port’s capacity, and expanding the existing terminals is not enough,” he says. #shipping #ports #oceanfreight #maersk #containershipping #investing #business 

The New Year brings both high expectations and risks for the freight industry. But DSV - Global Transport and Logistics is stronger than ever after acquisitions. Actually the company is expected to be best eqipped for 2025. “Given the uncertainty of 2025, DSV is stronger than ever to navigate through the challenges and opportunities that may arise in the freight forwarder market,” says Parash Jain, global head of shipping research at the big banking group HSBC. #shipping #logistics #freight #supplychain #freightforwarding 

Daniel Hockey, the new managing director of London-based ship brokerage Affinity (Shipping) LLP, says he won’t stray too far from the company’s strategy and vision when he takes over from founder Richard Fulford-Smith on January 1. ”There will be no radical changes,” Hockey tells ShippingWatch in an interview at the firm’s office in London. #shipping #brokerage #business

2025 is set to be a landmark year for global shipping. A power cabal with major stakes for the shipping industry will fall into place in the spring of 2025 at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Bryan Wood-Thomas, VP of Climate and Environment at World Shipping Council, Faïg Abbasov, shipping director at T&E France (Transport & Environment), Nina Porst, director of Climate, Environment and Safety at Danske Rederier and Guy Platten, Secretary General of International Chamber of Shipping all se see a huge challenge in the shift to greener fuels. However, they also see progress and opportunities in shipping’s green transition. #shipping #oceanfreight #containershipping #energytransition #renewableenergy #supplychain

Although 2024 is on track to be the third most profitable year in the history of the container industry, there is a clear difference in how equity investors value the performance of shipping companies. Three companies have delivered high investment returns this year, while Hapag-Lloyd AG and A.P. Moller - Maersk are struggling. They are being penalized by investors for two reasons, says analyst. EVERGREEN LINE, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services are doing better. #shipping #oceanfreight #container #business

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company's Executive Vice President of Maritime Policy and Government Affairs, Bud Darr, is leaving the shipping company to become president and CEO of CLIA | Cruise Lines International Association He succeeds Kelly Craighead who announced her plans to leave CLIA by year-end. The new president will assume his new role on February 3 2025, Darr says to ShippingWatch. #shipping #shippingorganizations #business #logistics

US President-elect Donald Trump might demand that the US gain control of the important Panama Canal, Canal de Panamá. “Our fleet and our merchants are being treated in a very unfair and inconsiderate manner. The fees that Panama is charging are ridiculous. Especially considering the generosity that the US has shown to Panama.” He claims that US ships are subject to unreasonable fees when passing through the Panama Canal. #shipping #oceanfreight #business #logistics https://lnkd.in/d2mdjm8s

The World Shipping Council (WSC), the international industry organization for container shipping, has elected Soren Toft, chief executive officer of major shipping company MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, to take over as chairman of the board, WSC writes in a press release. Toft takes over from Hapag-Lloyd AG-Lloyd’s chief exec Rolf Habben Jansen, who has held the position since November 2020. #containershipping #shippingorganizations