Newsletter – August 18, 2023

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

More blanked voyages and a ‘newbuild elephant’ approaching the room

theloadstar.com
Container spot rates on the transatlantic came under renewed pressure this week, obliging ocean carriers to cut supply on the route by blanking more sailings.
Moreover, in an attempt to reverse the trend and a new wave of rate erosion on the tradelane, carriers have announced FAK rate increases for next month. Read more here (login required).

Stranded MSC box ship leaves port of Odessa after 18 months

theloadstar.com
Containerships trapped in the port of Odessa since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February may finally have a route out – but hopes of trade returning are slim.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian authorities defied threats of Russian attacks on civilian shipping in the Black Sea, and allowed MSC’s 9,400 teu Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte to depart, with a Ukrainian crew. Read more here (login required).

Hapag-Lloyd shows interest in buying HMM, but it may not be ‘politically feasible’

theloadstar.com
Hapag-Lloyd has shown interest in acquiring South Korean flagship carrier HMM, making it the first foreign entity to be involved, sources said.
With just three days before bids close, The Loadstar was told by sources in South Korea’s securities and investment banking sector Hapag-Lloyd had requested a prospectus from Samsung Securities, which is handling the sale of the state’s majority stake in HMM. Read more here (login required).

Containership scrapping set to boom by year-end

theloadstar.com
A surge in scrapping of small container vessels illustrates that liner big-profitability is well and truly over, according to Alphaliner.
Scrap sales have passed 100,000 teu so far this year, almost ten times the 10,900 teu recycled in the whole of 2022. Read more here (login required).

GROUND & RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trucking job vacancies continue to increase

trucknews.com
Canadian trucking jobs continue to go unfilled, according to the latest data in Trucking HR Canada’s Q1 vacancy report.
The vacancy rate for both the truck transportation sector and transport truck driver occupation increased compared to the previous quarter. Though vacancies increased, the total demand for workers in the sector decreased between Q4 2022 and the first quarter of this year. Read more here.

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Consumer spending to soften in second half of 2023: Canadian Chamber of Commerce

bnnbloomberg.ca
Consumer spending is expected to cool in the third quarter as interest rate hikes continue to work their way through the economy, experts said.
“We do expect that consumers will be under increasing strain, particularly those folks that are borrowing,” said Stephen Tapp, chief economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Read more here.