Newsletter – February 2, 2023

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Liners now in the red on a mark-to-market basis

splash247.com
On a mark-to-market basis, most liners are operating in the red, according to analysis from investment bank Jefferies. Mark-to-market is an accounting practice that involves adjusting the value of an asset to reflect its value as determined by current market conditions.
“Container freight rates have fallen materially over the past six months and are hovering at 2020 lows across several routes,” Jefferies noted in a recent note to clients, calling for a “major supply response” to right-size the market. Read more here.

India seen as one of the year’s fastest growing box destinations

splash247.com
India, the fastest growing major economy in the world, is seeing ever greater volumes of large boxships visiting its shores, necessitating the construction of far larger ports.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts India’s GDP to grow 6.8% this year, while exports are accelerating at a rapid clip. The nation managed $422bn in exports last year, beating the government’s $400bn target. The share of machinery and electricals in India’s exports overtook the legacy textiles and apparel sectors in 2022 with shares of 9.9% and 9.7% respectively. Read more here.

Thousands of ships set to be hit by India’s age restrictions

splash247.com
Greek data firm MarineTraffic has provided some details of the ramifications of the upcoming Indian ban on older ships.
New Delhi is readying age restrictions for ships calling at the world’s second most populous nation.
Under the new rules no bulk carrier, tanker or general cargo ship aged 25 or older will be allowed to call at Indian ports. For gas carriers, offshore vessels and boxships the age limit will be set at 30 years. Locally flagged ships will be deregistered when they hit these new age limits. Furthermore, owners will not be able to locally flag any secondhand acquisitions that are 20 years old or above. Read more here.

Just how big are the global container shipping alliances?

freightwaves.com
The world’s top two container lines —  Switzerland’s MSC and Denmark’s Maersk — have cooperated since 2015 in the 2M alliance, a partnership they will end in 2025. Because MSC and Maersk have the biggest fleets, controlling over a third of all global capacity between them, 2M is the largest alliance, right?
Not so, explained container shipping data provider and analyst Alphaliner. “The picture can be deceiving,” it said. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Guidance on Liability Insurance for the FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading

fiata.com
FIATA has launched new guidance on the liability insurance requirements for the FIATA multimodal transport bill of lading (FBL). This guide follows the launch of the digital FBL solution in mid-2022, which brought to light pertinent questions regarding the liability insurance requirement for the use of the FBL and certain other FIATA documents. Access the guide here.

Posthaste: Baby boomers delaying retirement have eased labour shortages, but our luck is about to run out

financialpost.com
Baby boomers‘ reluctance to retire has helped Canadian businesses escape the worst of labour shortages, but that might be about to change, according to Toronto-Dominion Bank.
An additional one million people will be 65 or older by 2025, meaning around 900,000 workers will likely stop working in the next three years, James Orlando, a director at TD Economics, wrote in a Jan. 26 note. That number is 50 per cent higher than the average number of people who’ve retired each year over the last decade. Labour shortages will follow. Read more here.