The global shipping industry is constantly evolving, and the COVID-19 pandemic began a marked shift in how container shipping operates. Disruption caused by the pandemic has forced the industry to expand its capacity and reduce costs to remain profitable.
At the peak of the pandemic, containers essentially stopped moving. As manufacturers went into lockdown and closed factories, many of the containers used to ship those manufactured goods were left stranded at ports or storage depots, where they weren’t needed. Simultaneously, freight shippers were reducing the number of vessels in use due to the manufacturing slowdown. This limited global shipping capacity and disrupted the worldwide flow of containers and goods. As a result, some regions were left with an excess of stored containers, while other places were left with no containers at all.
As the pandemic slowed and the global economy began to rebound, labor shortages and congestion at ports have left many of these stored containers stuck where they aren’t needed. Now, instead of a shortage of shipping containers, the industry is dealing with too many. Many container storage depots are turning away new clients due to lack of space, and some shippers are even giving containers away to make room. Blank and cancelled sailings are increasing as well, as shippers decide to skip a port or cancel a trip altogether in order to manage changes in demand and capacity.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on the state of the container shipping industry. You can also visit our maritime news archive to learn more about cargo shipping, or our American Shipper archive for air cargo shipping industry news.
New technology and processes in supply chains have helped make the industry more resilient — but not enough to withstand every possible disruption.
Ports in New Orleans and Corpus Christi, Texas, recorded year-over-year increases in cargo volumes in February.
An unusually warm and dry winter might herald drought conditions in key areas of the Mississippi River Basin over the coming months.
Divers recovered the bodies of two men who died when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning after a cargo ship crashed into it.
The Port of Baltimore’s indefinite closure could cost the state of Maryland as much as $1 billion in total value of goods and services, analysts say.
The collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could significantly disrupt supply chains as shippers and carriers scramble to relocate shipping services to other East Coast ports.
Early Tuesday, a container ship collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore caused a major collapse, leading to a halt in port operations and creating severe traffic disruptions.
Chinese trade flow into Mexico is helping to build up the latter’s manufacturing capabilities, which is a long-term positive for the U.S.
The Port of Virginia recently completed a project to widen its ship channel for ultralarge container vessel traffic.
In 2023, the Port of New Orleans achieved a record-breaking year for its container-on-barge service, emphasizing its commitment to reducing emissions.
Georgia is paying $6 million toward a $17.45 million Port of Brunswick harbor improvement project, which includes more warehousing and roll-on/roll-off storage.
Ports across Mexico moved 728,116 twenty-foot equivalent units during January, a 20% year-over-year increase.
Dockworkers are fully prepared to swap pallet jacks for picket signs come October.
Georgia Ports Authority said it handled 428,000 containers and 65,400 roll-on, roll-off units in January.
Following 15 months of challenges, U.S. ports are once again experiencing substantial growth in inbound containers.
New cyber-risk requirements for container terminal owners and operators are part of a major maritime cybersecurity initiative announced by the White House.
The crisis in the Red Sea will require companies to start planning for peak season in the next few months.
Houthiville and Mother-in-law Nature are making international logistics a visit to the eyeball surgeon before modern painkiller.
Despite concerns about the impact of international tensions on global trade, shipyards are flooded with orders.
A rise in Chinese imports indicates seasonal trends are playing out as usual, very much unlike 2023’s anemic performance.
Tankers and bulk vessels continue to avoid conflict in the Red Sea, at increasing rates, according to new data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
A recent round of U.S. and British strikes raise fresh questions about the impact of container shipping in the Red Sea.
Houthi attacks and Red Sea diversions will not spur inflation or a new supply chain crisis, claims consultancy Drewry.
Retailers and ocean carriers assess the possible effects in the U.S. if supply chain disruptions in the Middle East continue.
The Russia-Ukraine war led to enduring changes in shipping routes. War in the Middle East looks likely to do the same.
Spot rates remain very high, but appear to have plateaued. The question ahead: Will they fall back after Chinese New Year?
Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec rail corridor could complement container movements along the Panama Canal.
The initial effect of Houthi attacks was on containerized consumer goods. The attacks are now snarling seaborne fuel flows.
The Port of New Orleans has received a $226 million federal grant to complete the $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal on the lower Mississippi.
Amid the focus on wars in Europe and the Middle East, North Korea’s threat to key exporting and shipbuilding nations grows.
Monthly canal transits are now much lower than they were in 2015, the year before the Neopanamax locks went into operation.
Container lines faced overcapacity and huge losses in 2024. Then the Houthis flipped the market in favor of container lines.
Houthi attacks have been a plus for shipping rates. The latest to benefit: Owners of container vessels that can be rented to shipping lines.
Maersk has opted to bypass the drought-stricken Panama Canal and use rail to transport cargo across Panama.
The upsurge in rates due to ship diversions did not come soon enough to rescue container lines’ fourth-quarter results.
As the Houthis disrupt Red Sea trade, we’re seeing how fragile our supply chains are (again).
U.S. imports kept chugging along, despite all the talk of supply chain problems due to Red Sea attacks and Panama’s drought.
The combination of Red Sea detours and Panama Canal restrictions is having a knock-on effect: higher Asia-West Coast rates.
Imports to Europe and the U.S. East Coast face heavy delays as Operation Prosperity Guardian fails to bring shipping back to the Red Sea.
Tanker stocks rose as expected in 2023, container shipping shares surprised to the upside, and dry bulk stocks lagged the pack.
Cargo volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey were 7.5% higher than November 2019 but 11% lower year over year.
Shipping stocks are under pressure as some ocean carriers show faith in military protection from Red Sea attacks.
Ocean shipping kept the world’s cargo flowing amid two wars and disruptions at both the Panama and Suez canals.
The key question for container shipping rates: How soon can Operation Prosperity Guardian woo traffic back to the Red Sea?
Importers and exporters are looking to air cargo as a way to bypass the dangerous Red Sea and minimize supply chain disruptions.
Container ships have forsaken the Red Sea route but many bulk commodity vessels continue to transit the danger zone.
A growing number of ship operators are refusing to transit the Red Sea and taking a very long detour around Africa instead.
Container-ship route diversions — first to avoid the Panama Canal, now to avoid Red Sea chaos — could help offset rate pressure from newbuilding deliveries.
Panama’s drought initially affected transits through the smaller locks. The pain has now spread to the larger Neopanamax locks.
Next year, U.S. importers must navigate canal restrictions, diversions from the Red Sea, more canceled sailings and, possibly, a port strike.
Imports have held up surprisingly well this year, but peak season’s end and canal restrictions are finally curbing volumes.
As the Panama Canal scales back on reservation slots, more ships without reservations wait longer to get through.
Union Pacific is seeking to beef up its intermodal offerings via a terminal in Phoenix and the addition of destinations for its on-dock rail service at Port Houston.
MSC, the world’s largest shipping line, faces the largest-ever shipper claim for alleged damages suffered during the supply chain crisis.
There has been a surge of attacks and threats targeting Israel-linked ships, including one incident where the U.S. Navy came to the rescue.
Time is running out for container lines as contract rate renewal season nears and spot rates fail to recover.
Panama Canal restrictions force more ships to transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen, where they face a hijacking risk.
Belgium-based logistics provider Katoen Natie is expanding warehousing and rail facilities at its Norfolk, Virginia, operations, to support the export market for plastic resins.
Terminal operator ICTSI has not given up its quest for tens of millions in damages from the West Coast longshore union.
Despite a 22% volume decline year over year, the Port of Savannah had its fourth-busiest October, according to the Georgia Ports Authority.
The era of rapid Chinese growth and large-scale government intervention is over, says China Beige Book CEO Leland Miller.
Zim’s headline loss looks ugly, but most of the decline was non-cash and it still has ample reserves to weather the downcycle.
Project freight forwarder deugro has opened a container terminal in Baytown, Texas, along the Houston Ship Channel.
A fleet of container vessels is up for sale as a company backed by Greece’s Evangelos Marinakis switches its bets to LNG shipping.
Cargo volumes are holding up, but rising transport capacity is outpacing demand, pushing container shipping rates even lower.
Canadian railway CN, the Mississippi State Port Authority and Ports America have signed a memorandum of understanding for an intermodal service at the Port of Gulfport.
Containerized imports have rebounded strongly in 2023, with October volumes up 33% from February’s low.
The union representing East and Gulf Coast dockworkers warned members to prepare for a possible strike starting Oct. 1, 2024.
“This is not a diet. This is a resetting of the baseline,” said Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc on his company’s job cuts.
The water crisis at the Panama Canal is getting worse and will force more ships to take much longer routes.
Profits being reported by container shipping lines are down from the stratosphere but many still surpass pre-COVID returns.
Now that port labor unrest is over, West Coast container terminals are starting to claw back some of their lost volumes.
Cargo volumes showed mixed results for Gulf Coast ports in September, with Houston reporting container declines, New Orleans seeing gains and Corpus Christi getting a boost from crude oil shipments.
“The table is set to scale up as demand increases,” said Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka.
The Prince Rupert Port Authority is starting construction on a project that will increase rail-to-container transloading at the Canadian port, particularly for agricultural, forestry and plastic resin products.
Officials from Nexxiot and Deloitte talk with FreightWaves in this Q&A about how combining data on container movements and a container’s financial streams can help ward off illicit trade.
Cosco earned more than $800 million in the third quarter, while one analyst expects Zim to lose more than $200 million.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX are seeking approval from the Surface Transportation Board to acquire some of the assets of short line Meridian & Bigbee Railroad. They plan to beef up an Alabama interchange as part of an effort to create a Mexico-Southeast corridor.
The Port of Montreal has received funding from Canada’s National Trade Corridors Fund to build a new terminal aimed at boosting the port’s container handling capacity.
Geopolitics has always been a key driver of global shipping markets. How could the war in Israel affect rates?
Peak season demand propelled imports higher in September, although softening spot rates point to a fourth-quarter slowdown.
The Chapter 11 filing of the ILWU dockworkers union dates back to a dispute over two electrician jobs in Oregon a decade ago.
Just when it looked like West Coast port labor drama had dissipated, the ILWU has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Georgia Ports Authority reported a dip in August volumes at the Port of Savannah. But volume increases for rail traffic and roll-on/roll-off cargo were bright sports for GPA last month.
Inflation and economic fallout from the war are curbing demand just as a tidal wave of new ship supply hits the water.
The recent rate rebound turned out to be fleeting. As rates deteriorate yet again, shipping lines face mounting losses.
Although container volumes were down at the Port of Charleston year over year, South Carolina Ports’ Inland Port Greer saw record volumes in August.
Although the U.S. supply chain may no longer be imperiled by the pandemic-era chassis shortage, companies should still act in response to expectations that e-commerce and global trade will only continue to grow, according to the president and CEO of Trac Intermodal.
The supply chain crisis is over, but exporters are still paying more — and facing more logistical challenges — than they did before the pandemic.
The plot thickens in the legal battle between Bed Bath & Beyond and container lines. More carriers are in the crosshairs.
The Panama Canal Authority on Tuesday suspended bookings for super vessels through Sept. 30 in its latest measure to remove a backlog waiting to traverse the canal.
Canadian railway CN and Norfolk Southern are partnering to create a domestic intermodal service that will connect Canadian customers with markets in the U.S. Southeast.
Now that supply chains are back to normal, the typical effects of seasonality have returned, bringing U.S. imports up.
The new service will provide a direct connection from the Port of Savannah to CSX’s intermodal terminal in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
Fuel costs were overshadowed by skyrocketing freight rates amid the supply chain crisis. Now, fuel costs are much more important.
Have shipping stocks been a good bet? Here’s a look at their performance year to date and versus pre-COVID.
Asia-U.S. spot shipping rates have pulled back after a strong run-up, implying peak season may have passed its peak.
The Florida Legislature is providing $30 million for two new ship-to-shore cranes that Jaxport says will let more cargo move efficiently through the Port of Jacksonville.
Average CEO compensation rose as ocean shipping company earnings increased, fueled in many cases by share-based compensation.
