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The Loadstar

The Loadstar is fast becoming known at the highest levels of logistics and supply chain management as one of the best sources of influential analysis and commentary.


Wednesday, August 2, 2023
The CMA CGM Marco Polo container ship passes under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, to enter New York Harbor. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Shipping

Transatlantic Carriers Change Course

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Transatlantic container rates from North Europe to the US east coast have fallen below pre-pandemic levels after ocean

August 2, 2023
Total Views: 3178

Friday, July 28, 2023
Trucks At Port Of LA
Shipping

FMC Improves Container Data-Sharing to Address Supply Chain Bottlenecks

By Alex Whiteman (The Loadstar) – The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) this week unveiled plans for a major shake-up in the collection and return

July 28, 2023
Total Views: 831

Friday, July 21, 2023
Aerial top view of a containership underway
Shipping

Container Spot Rates: Mixed Fortunes on Transpacific and Transatlantic Trade Lanes

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Container spot rates from Asia to the US spiked this week, while carriers managed to halt the decline in short-term

July 21, 2023
Total Views: 1028

Wednesday, July 19, 2023
The LNG-powered containership, the CMA CGM, on the river Elbe near the city of Hamburg, Germany, February 14, 2021. Photo: FrankHH / Shutterstock.com
Shipping

CMA CGM Sets Course to Overtake Maersk in Shipping Line Rankings

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – With its huge orderbook of 122 ships, for a capacity of 1.24m teu, CMA CGM is on course to overtake Maersk as the

July 19, 2023
Total Views: 3343

Friday, July 14, 2023
FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are stacked at Gwangyang port in Gwangyang, South Korea, June 14, 2022. Yonhap via REUTERS
Shipping

Container Freight Rates Inch Upward, But Lingering Challenges Impede Full Recovery

By Charlie Bartlett (The Loadstar) – Global container freight rates are still – marginally – exceeding pre-pandemic levels, according to

July 14, 2023
Total Views: 1305

Wednesday, July 12, 2023
ZIM logo on a building
Shipping

ZIM Faces Bleak Outlook as Container Shipping Weakness Persists

By Alex Whiteman (The Loadstar) – Ongoing weakness in container shipping has forced Israel’s Zim to drastically re-evaluate its full-year performance,

July 12, 2023
Total Views: 2587

Friday, July 7, 2023
container ship at sea
Shipping

Ocean Carriers Run Out of Niche Trades

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Container spot rates on the transatlantic took a hammering this week, losing over 20% of their value, and the

July 7, 2023
Total Views: 2125

Monday, July 3, 2023
Maersk ship entering the Port of Rotterdam. Photo: Shutterstock
Shipping

Maersk Unleashes Huge Asia-North Europe Rate Hike

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Maersk is attempting to undo weeks of heavy discounting on the Asia-North Europe tradelane with a substantial increase

July 3, 2023
Total Views: 4461

Friday, June 30, 2023
Stock image of an MSC containership
Shipping

MSC Lead Transpacific Capacity Exodus as ZIM Bucks the Trend

By Alex Lennane (The Loadstar) – Ocean carriers have removed almost a quarter of their capacity from the transpacific tradelane in the past year as

June 30, 2023
Total Views: 5422

Thursday, June 29, 2023
port of los angeles and long beach
Shipping

Containership Charter Market Loses Steam as Carriers Look to Off-Hire Ships

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – There are now clear signs that the weak demand for ocean freight is beginning to impact the hitherto insulated

June 29, 2023
Total Views: 2409

Friday, June 23, 2023
FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are seen at the container terminal of the port of Oakland, California, U.S., October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Shipping

Liner Bear Market Looms as Rates Continue to Tumble

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Maritime analysts are bearish on the outlook for liner shipping, as inventory de-stocking progress in the US and Europe

June 23, 2023
Total Views: 1098

Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Aerial top view of a ship at sea
Shipping

Survival of the Fittest for Shortsea Shipping Market

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Shortsea shipping lines in Northern Europe are facing a fight for survival as demand weakens and rates plummet. As in

June 21, 2023
Total Views: 2794

Monday, June 19, 2023
msc containership
Shipping

MSC is Bleeding the Charter Market Dry

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The containership charter market shows no sign of softening as it goes into the usually slack summer season, despite

June 19, 2023
Total Views: 8065

Friday, June 16, 2023
Rates Woes Continue for Carriers Amid Claims of Transatlantic Price-Dumping
Shipping

Rates Woes Continue for Carriers Amid Claims of Transatlantic Price-Dumping

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Asia-North European carriers are being obliged to discount rates at the time of year – the build-up to the peak

June 16, 2023
Total Views: 2004

Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Ismailia,,Egypt,-,November,5,,2017:,Large,Container,Vessel,Ship
Shipping

Top Ocean Carriers Set Course for More Profitable Routes

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Ocean carriers constantly reassess network coverage to cope with the impact of demand fluctuations but, post-pandemic,

June 7, 2023
Total Views: 1660

Friday, June 2, 2023
Aerial top view of a containership underway
Shipping

Long-Term Container Freight Rates ‘Collapse’, Says Xeneta

By Charlie Bartlett (The Loadstar) – June is bearing few surprises for container shipping, with demand continuing its inexorable downward correction. In

June 2, 2023
Total Views: 4821

Friday, May 26, 2023
Aerial top view of a containership at port. Stock Photo: Shutterstock/Avigator Fortuner
Shipping

Peak Season Hope Fades as Container Freight Rates Slip Again

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The prospect of a traditional peak season is slipping away with each week that passes and ocean carriers are as yet

May 26, 2023
Total Views: 3569

Tuesday, May 23, 2023
expanded panama canal
Shipping

Panama Canal Draft Restrictions Could Halt Coastal Shift

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is to further reduce the maximum draft allowed for vessels transiting the waterway

May 23, 2023
Total Views: 4816

Wednesday, May 17, 2023
MSC Tessa, one of the world's largest containerships, under construction at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai, China. Photo courtesy CSSC.
Shipping

MSC and CMA CGM Out in Front in Box Fleet-Building Race

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – MSC’s phenomenal growth over the past two years has largely been driven by acquisition of second-hand containerships,

May 17, 2023
Total Views: 3138

Friday, May 12, 2023
Maersk ship entering the Port of Rotterdam. Photo: Shutterstock
Shipping

2M Adding Capacity to Reduce Speed on Asia-Europe Network

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Next month, 2M partners MSC and Maersk will deploy nine extra vessels on their Asia-Europe services, an injection of

May 12, 2023
Total Views: 1504
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