Latest Ads
News, News, News
Midnight tonight sees liner shipping go through its largest reshuffle in a decade as companies jump ship from existing alliances on the main east-west trades.
THE Alliance will become the Premier Alliance, with Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM and Yang Ming Marine Transportation as partners, and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) helping plug gaps on Asia-Europe tradelanes.
MSC is ditching Maersk in the 2M vessel sharing agreement to largely go it alone, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd subsequently exiting THE Alliance to join the Danish carrier in what will be called the Gemini Cooperation.
The only grouping remaining intact come February 1, the Ocean Alliance, made up of COSCO, OOCL, CMA CGM and Evergreen, will also be the one with the largest market share and widest market coverage this year, according to analysis from Linerlytica, an Asia-based container shipping consultancy.
Data from rival Alphaliner shows the Ocean Alliance will deploy a total of around 390 container vessels with an estimated nominal capacity of nearly 5m teu.
Linerlytica data shows the Ocean Alliance will have what it describes as a “dominant” position on the transpacific with 15 sailings to the west coast and eight sailings to the east coast. It will also have the widest coverage to North Europe with a seventh service to be added, matching MSC’s coverage. MSC will remain the dominant carrier to the Mediterranean, according to Linerlytica, with the Swiss line offering six weekly services.
The Linerlytica data shows the Gemini Cooperation made up of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will become the smallest alliance with the fewest number of weekly sailings on offer in 2025.
Attention is now turning to how smoothly this alliance shuffle will go.
“We think the upcoming alliance reshuffle which could disrupt schedules and the official announcement of tariffs … could arrest the sharp rates decline and keep rates at a relatively high level in 1H25, boding well for transpacific contract negotiations,” states a recent liner markets report published earlier this month from HSBC.
Analysts at Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence have argued that since it has now been more than four months since the announcement of the new alliance networks from the carriers they should have had ample time to prepare a smooth transition into their new networks.
“Sure, there will be some operational hiccups – that is unavoidable when hundreds of vessels change schedules – but this is happening during the slack season after Chinese New Year, and should hopefully be manageable,” Sea-Intelligence noted in a recent weekly report.
Having been one of the fastest growing classification societies during the first two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) became the big loser among members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) over the past 12 months.
Data from Clarksons Research shows that among IACS members, IRS was the only class society to register a fleet decline over the past year, its classed fleet dropping in size by a sizeable 13.5% with nearly 4m gt leaving.
The class societies celebrating the largest growth in gt terms over the past year were Houston-headquartered ABS, Italy’s RINA and Beijing-based CCS.
Two European tanker brokers have joined forces with news Odin-RVB from The Netherlands is taking over Barcelona-based Iberica Tanker Chartering.
“As the shipping landscape continues to evolve, we recognize the changing demands and expectations of our stakeholders. This merger is yet another pivotal step in our long-term strategy to adapt, innovate, and continue as a comprehensive shipping solutions provider, equipped to offer a diverse range of logistics services,” the two companies stated in a release.
Shipbroking has been through a decade of considerable consolidation including big names joining forces as well as niche, boutique houses bought out. Odin-RVB is itself the result of a merger five years ago between Odin Marine Europe and RVB Shipbrokers.
Wolfgang Lehmacher and Mikael Lind write for Splash today sharing some of their input to the recently released World Economic Forum AI TradeTech report.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to change international trade. AI will improve efficiency, costs, and decision-making. McKinsey reports that AI implementation can reduce forecast errors by 50% and logistics costs by 15%, while companies leveraging AI have seen inventory levels decrease by 35% and service levels improve by 65%. This article highlights seven areas where AI may transform trade, the benefits ahead, and the barriers to overcome.
- Intelligence and negotiations
AI systems can identify market trends, predict demand, and better automate negotiations in e-commerce and B2B sales. This technology could also level the playing field for smaller businesses. However, concerns over data privacy and ethical implications may slow adoption, particularly in developed nations. - Optimising trade through automation
AI can help supply chain management by making real-time adjustments based on demand changes, improving customer satisfaction, lowering costs, and freeing working capital. Challenges include ensuring reliable predictions in uncertain conditions and managing data synchronisation across multiple trade nodes. - Enhancing risk management and resilience
AI tools can monitor risk factors, from supplier operations to natural disasters, allowing businesses to adjust operations swiftly. AI assists in supply chain mapping, simulation, and developing contingency plans. The effectiveness of these systems depends on data quality and overcoming resistance to data sharing among business partners. - Facilitating trade through language and cultural barriers
Advanced machine translation systems powered by neural networks are breaking down language barriers in international trade. AI also assists in localising digital presence for different markets. Challenges include changing international trade regulations and AI’s limitations in processing context-specific language nuances. - New possibilities in trade finance
AI can assist in credit assessment, risk evaluation, and fraud detection in trade finance. Integration with smart contracts and distributed ledger technology could revolutionise supply chain finance, potentially reducing processing times for instruments like letters of credit from weeks to hours. Technical and regulatory challenges, as well as ethical concerns, remain. - Streamlining compliance and customs
AI can automate customs processes, detect anomalies, prevent fraud, and help companies manage complex trade risks. Challenges include lack of interoperability between computer systems and concerns about the accuracy of AI-driven customs decisions. - Ensuring ethical sourcing and sustainability
AI systems can track materials throughout value chains, assess suppliers, and help companies avoid unethical partnerships. AI can also assist in improving Scope 3 emissions calculations and recommend more sustainable alternatives. Effectiveness depends on data sharing and collaboration across global value chains.
The impact of AI varies across developed and developing markets, public and private sectors, and businesses of different sizes. As we navigate this AI revolution, a human-centric approach that fosters collaboration between human experts and AI systems will be crucial. Trust is essential in trade, and users are more likely to embrace AI-powered solutions when complemented by human oversight and expertise.
Challenges such as data privacy, cybersecurity, regulatory complexity, and ethical concerns must and will be addressed to fully realise AI’s potential in trade. Businesses, governments, and other stakeholders in the global trade ecosystem are well advised to prepare for the AI revolution, as those who embrace this technology early and thoughtfully stand to gain a significant competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving, currently volatile, and uncertain world of international commerce and trade.