Category: Sea

Container shipping rates from China to the US and Europe continue to rise, as reduced capacity, high consumer demand and equipment shortages across China and Southeast Asia escalate. While container freight rate increases on the transpacific trade from Asia h... Read more

Spot market shippers have seen continued rate spikes this week and the shipping lines are preparing for further rate elevation, as excess demand leads to cargo-rolling increases at many origin and transhipment ports. Shippers using the spot market for consignments from Asia to Euro... Read more

European container ports survive the post-blockage Suez surge, but container equipment is out of position and remains scarce. Europe’s container terminals have been struggling to handle increased import volumes since Q3 2020. Keeping recurring congestion at bay has been their biggest chal... Read more

Sixty five years ago saw the beginning of containerisation, with the inaugural voyage of the first container ship, the Sea Land Ideal X on the 26th April 1956. Today, despite its best efforts, the container shipping industry is swamped by the continuing deluge of pandemic and lockdown related ... Read more

Port operations at Montreal resumed on Sunday after legislation was passed by the Canadian Parliament to end the industrial action by longshoremen, however it will take several days, or probably weeks, to return operations to anything like a normal situation. About ten ships are currently en-r... Read more

Finding an empty container in Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian or any other major Chinese gateway port, is becoming a major problem, yet again, as Asian container availability is tightening, and purchase and rental costs are soaring, and equipment will become even scarcer as demand builds through May in... Read more

Our sea freight ops team continue to perform in a very challenging global ocean freight environment and with global supply chains likely to be under pressure for the rest of the year, they will continue to deliver the highest possible levels of service and performance available with all options b... Read more

Over £400,000 worth of goods in transit were stolen every day from Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) supply chains in 2020, even with many countries being under lockdown for much of the year. The Transport Asset Protection Association (TAPA) recorded 6,463 cargo thefts across 56 countries... Read more

Peak Season surcharges were expected to soften, reduce or even be withdrawn after Chinese New Year. And while this was widely anticipated, the reality is that with continued demand, the lack of empty equipment and the Suez crisis, rates have gone much higher and most carriers have actually increa... Read more

Singapore is a major global freight hub, that is located at the heart of major shipping lanes in Asia and a gateway for Southeast Asia, which is why we value the regional insights and transport intelligence provided by our partners in-country. Metro recognised Singapore’s pivotal role in reg... Read more

The leading container shipping lines are releasing their Q1 2021 operational statements, which show a sharp increase in freight rates compared to Q4 2020 reports. Not only in the sense that rates are increasing, but the pace at which the rates increase is also accelerating, but when will the incr... Read more

The ability to track shipments in transit enables shippers to manage inventory in motion, limit disruptions and mitigate risk. But with shipping schedules currently in tatters, the lines’ predictive locations tools are not reliable, leaving Metro to find a solution. Real-time shipment tracki... Read more