Ocean Shipping

As Houthi attacks continue in the Red Sea, retailers are scrambling to find alternative methods for moving their inventory, including exploring more air freight options and boosting inventory.

Major U.S. container ports are entering a period of historically low cargo volumes as the holiday season winds down. However, attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and continued delays at the Panama Canal may shake up this year’s usual winter lull.

While shifting Asian cargo from East Coast to West Coast U.S. ports adds time and cost, it is one option shippers have to counter continued risk in the Red Sea.

United States-bound containerized freight imports finished 2023 on a growth track, for the fourth consecutive month in December, after a 14-month stretch of annual declines, according to data recently issued by S&P Global Market Intelligence. December imports, at 2.2 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), increased 9% in December, matching November’s annual percentage gain. For all of calendar year 2023, S&P reported that imports fell 8.5%, to 28.9 million TEU, while the fourth quarter posted an 8% annual improvement.

Earlier today, various media reports indicated that the United States and England have taken retaliatory measures against the Yemeni Houthi pirates for their ongoing series of attacks on the Red Sea shipping lane, in response to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Alternate routes are adding cost, time to global trade

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced they are partnering up to launch a survey of port authorities and marine terminal operators, with a focus on identifying the national port cargo handling needs over the next five-to-ten years

From November to December, Descartes reported that U.S.-bound container import volumes eked out 0.4% increase, to 2,107,012 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), topping December 2022’s 1,929,032 TEU tally by 9.2% and was up 10.6% compared to pre-pandemic December 2019’s 1,904,828 TEU.

Due to the ongoing violence in the Red Sea region and continued attacks on global shipping, global ocean container line service provider A.P. Moller-Maersk said this week it would pause all vessels bound for the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, due to the recent incident pertaining to the Maersk Hangzhou and related issued in that region.

Supply chain professionals in the global container shipping industry expect more technology investment and positive growth in the market in 2024.

Companies have placed a pause on activity as Houthi rebels continue to target commercial ships.

Free Trade Zones offer opportunities to bring the global market to local markets, creating jobs and innovation around the world.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced it is raising the number of daily vessel transits to 24, effective January 16, 2024. The current number of vessel transits is 22, ACP officials said, and are divided into six Neopanamax and 16 Panamax vessels, with scheduled increase bringing those numbers to seven and 17, respectively, next month.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with DHL Express U.S. CEO Greg Hewitt to discuss various topics, including: the 2023 Peak Season; the freight economy; and variuous logistics trends and themes. Their conversation is below. 

Two global shipping giants, A.P. Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, announced on Friday that they are pausing shipping in the Red Sea following continued attacks on commercial ships in the region.