Newsletter – April 5, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

CLIVE: Forwarders seek longer term contracts to secure volumes

aircargonews.net

Growth in longer term contracts between shippers and freight forwarders may reflect moves by the latter to secure air cargo volumes, according to  CLIVE Data Services.

This shift could indicate a ‘hunt for volume’ by forwarders, said Niall van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at CLIVE’s parent firm, Xeneta. Read more here.

New buyer found for Frankfurt-Hahn Airport

aircargonews.net

Frankfurt Hahn Airport has found a new buyer in the shape of German real estate firm Triwo.

The purchase price, which has not been disclosed, has already been transferred to an escrow account.

The conclusion and execution of the agreement are subject to conditions but both parties assume that these will be “fulfilled promptly”. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

CMA CGM’s secondhand splurge since 2020 surpasses the 100-ship mark

splash247.com

The two most aggressive buyers of secondhand boxships during container shipping’s record earnings period of the last three years have both passed significant tonnage milestones in recent days.

Splashreported on Monday on Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) surpassing the 300-ship mark in terms of secondhand purchases made since August 2020, S&P activity on a scale never seen in any shipping sector. Read more here.

Box scrap candidates find new trading owners

splash247.com

The predicted wave of boxships heading for demolition is proving to be a trickle. Ships are still making money, whatever their age, and demo candidates are finding new owners rather than the blow torch.

Around the start of the year many of container shipping’s top analysts were predicting hundreds of thousands of teu worth of vintage boxships to be scrapped. Read more here.

‘Speedy’ sale of HMM finally gets the green light

theloadstar.com

Privatisation of South Korean ocean carrier HMM is finally set to progress, now Seoul-based investment bank Samsung Securities has been appointed to find a buyer, according to Alphaliner.

The on-off sale of the state’s approximate 45% stake in the carrier has been in the air since 2021, but now the chairman of the largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank (KDB), has pledged it will be carried out in “a speedy manner”. Read more here.

US east coast cargo migration is logical and will continue, say analysts

theloadstar.com

Because 76% of the US population lives closer to the east, it is logical that more cargo will go there, according to industry experts.

It means ocean freight will continue to migrate to US east coast ports from Pacific gateways, Blue Alpha Capital founder John McCown told The Loadstar’s podcaster Mike King. Read more here.

Cardboard box demand to remain low in 2023

freightwaves.com

Corrugated box shipments, which are a good barometer for goods demand, sank in 2022 as goods demand did the same. Many in the box industry expect 2023 to be worse.

FreightWaves conducted a survey of independent North American box-makers last week. Executives from 32 companies, with an average size of about $85 million in sales, shared their feedback. Read more here.