The Loadstar

The Loadstar is an independent, United Kingdom based, supply chain and logistics publication covering freight forwarding, air cargo, ocean shipping, ports, and international trade policy. gCaptain republishes select Loadstar coverage under content partnership terms when stories are materially relevant to maritime and offshore readers. Loadstar stories on gCaptain are clearly attributed and may be edited for house style, formatting, and headline clarity while preserving source reporting.


Friday, August 18, 2023
Shipping

More Blanked Sailings and Rate Increases for Transatlantic Shipping

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Container spot rates on the transatlantic came under renewed pressure this week, obliging ocean carriers to cut

August 18, 2023
Total Views: 1483

Monday, August 14, 2023
Shipping

Mid-Sized Ocean Carriers Navigate Troubled Waters Amid Profit Plunge

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Mid-sized ocean carriers are losing money and the outlook is particularly bleak for the smaller lines, obliging them to

August 14, 2023
Total Views: 2444

Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Shipping

Panama Canal Draught Restrictions Spark Liner Surcharges

By Ian Putzger, Americas correspondent (The Loadstar) – Evergreen’s latest addition to its neo-panamax fleet had to offload 1,400 containers to pass

August 8, 2023
Total Views: 14018

Monday, August 7, 2023
Shipping

Five South Korean Companies Vie to Take Over Flagship Carrier HMM

By Martina Li in Taiwan (The Loadstar) – Five South Korean corporations have shown an interest in taking over flagship carrier HMM. State-controlled

August 7, 2023
Total Views: 2890

Thursday, August 3, 2023
Shipping

Container Lessors Benefit from Rising Demand and Slow Steaming

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Container leasing companies reported a slowdown in the return of boxes by ocean carrier customers in the second

August 3, 2023
Total Views: 1486

Wednesday, August 2, 2023
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: 3266

Friday, July 28, 2023
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: 942

Friday, July 21, 2023
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: 1130

Wednesday, July 19, 2023
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: 3512

Friday, July 14, 2023
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: 1461

Wednesday, July 12, 2023
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: 2672

Friday, July 7, 2023
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: 2202

Monday, July 3, 2023
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: 4565

Friday, June 30, 2023
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: 5523

Thursday, June 29, 2023
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: 2519

Friday, June 23, 2023
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: 1154

Wednesday, June 21, 2023
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: 3124

Monday, June 19, 2023
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: 8253

Friday, June 16, 2023
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: 2061

Wednesday, June 7, 2023
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: 1721