Turn in trade with China? 
Statistics for 2020 show a clear shift in the trade flows between China, the USA and the EU. According to European Union statistics, EU states saw an increase in imports (+5.6%) and exports +2.2%) to and from China last year, despite the pandemic. The United States Census,... more
A transatlantic coalition is forged
Two big industrial ports have a common cause. The US-Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the European Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, have signed a memorandum of understanding for further collaboration. The ports outlined a number of shared objectives, which include... more
Vessel traffic service to take off in Antwerp
The Port of Antwerp has launched a new shipping guidance system called Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) to improve safety and environmental protection on the increasingly busy Scheldt River and at the Antwerp docks. VTS provides information and advice on both ship navigation... more
World trade growing again
In January 2020, the container throughput index published by the German research body Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI - Leibniz) and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) registered a moderate surge in world trade and container... more
Bremen's ports under pressure
Bremen and Bremerhaven handled 66.5 million t of goods on the seaward side in 2020, 4.2% down from 2019. With 10.4 million t (-14.3%), Bremen-Stadt lost significantly more than Bremerhaven with 56.1 million t (-2.1%). With a 5% decrease and a total volume of 8.6 million t,... more
Imperial turns the page
Imperial has published its results for the half-year ending 31 December 2020. While revenues increased by 15% to ZAR 26.4 billion (USD 1.76 billion) compared to same period a year before, ebitda went down by 2% to ZAR 2.5 billion (USD 170 million) and operating profit by 18% to... more
Turnaround in sight? 
The Shanghai Export Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) and its fellow indices have faced competition from the Valencia Containerised Freight Index (VCFI) since 2018. The port of Valencia did well with exports to the Middle East, North Africa and the Far East of late. more
Finnlines sailing in the black
The Finnlines Group reported its financial results for the year 2020, which were commented by Emanuele Grimaldi, president and CEO. The pandemic left its mark. The group’s turnover was down by 16% to EUR 484.0 (EUR 574.8 million) compared to 2019, while ebitda was EUR 140.8... more
Rail prevails at Port of Hamburg
The Port of Hamburg presented its results of the year 2020 at a virtual press conference recently. Despite an upward trend since Q3/2020, total volumes in 2020 amounted to 126.3 million t, 7.6% less than in 2019. Container handling was in the same range with a decline of 7.9% to... more
By when will MSC surpass Maersk?
The run for capacity enters the next phase. Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping (MSC) is heavily investing in its fleet. This move concerns second-hand tonnage as well as new orders for 24,000 teu vessels. According to Clarksons, MSC just recently acquired the 1,850 teu... more