Newsletter – January 2, 2024

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Carriers are ‘price gouging’, claim shippers as FAK rates skyrocket
theloadstar.com
Shippers are accusing Asia-North Europe ocean carriers of ‘price gouging’ as FAK (freight all kinds) rates being quoted for January shipment go through the roof.
The Loadstar has been inundated with messages from shipper contacts who just cannot believe the level of rates being quoted by carriers. Read more here (login required).

Red Sea Drone and Missile Attacks Continue Undeterred Despite Coalition
maritime-executive.com
Attacks on commercial shipping coming from Yemen continued on Monday apparently undeterred by the multi-national coalition led by the United States. While no vessels reported being hit, the Houthi rebels reiterated that they are targeting Israeli shipping interests and ships trading with Israel. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company later confirmed that one of its vessels was among the ships targeted today. Read more here.

Maersk prepares to return to Red Sea under US-led protection
ajot.com
A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s second-largest container line, said it’s preparing to resume shipping through the Red Sea, thanks to a new multi-national maritime task force to protect vessels from attacks by Houthi rebels from Yemen.
“We are currently working on plans for the first vessels to make the transit and for this to happen as soon as operationally possible,” the company said Sunday in an advisory. Read more here.

Hapag-Lloyd says Red Sea route still too dangerous
ajot.com
Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd AG said it will keep its vessels away from the Red Sea even after the launch of a US-led taskforce to protect the key trade route from militant attacks.
The container liner said it will continue to reroute its vessels via the Cape of Good Hope, a detour of several thousand miles. It follows a spate of attacks on merchant ships — by Yemeni rebels acting in support of the Palestinians — on a route that handles about 12% of global trade. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

CBP reopens key ports of entry for freight trains at US-Mexico border
freightwaves.com
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reopened the three international border bridges at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, on Friday afternoon, allowing freight rail operations to proceed through those checkpoints, affected railroads said Friday.
CBP reopened the international gateways at 1 p.m. CST, thus resuming 24/7 operations there, according to a Friday customer notification from Western Class I railroad BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B). Read more here.