March and April are critical months for ocean carriers looking to ink annual freight contracts with shippers, including the world’s biggest retailers, but this year contract season is turning into a waiting game. The $2,500 spread between spot market rates and long-term freight contract rates for Asia to U.S. West Coast containers has reached its … Read more
The Toronto Express container ship, operated by Hapag-Lloyd AG at the Port of Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Maria Feck | Bloomberg | Getty Images Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest ocean carrier, tells CNBC he has an improved view on trade for the rest of 2024. Conversations … Read more
The battle for the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea has expanded with the entrance of a European Commission naval defense effort in the past week, and more U.S. and allied strikes against Houthi land targets over the weekend, but to date, combined military efforts have not deterred rebel attacks. On Saturday evening, United … Read more
FRANKFURT, Germany — Missiles and drones are flying in the Red Sea, disrupting one of the world’s key trade arteries and a chokepoint for energy shipments headed for Europe. Attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over Israel’s war with Hamas are posing a new threat to the future of energy supplies to the 27-country European Union, … Read more
A cargo ship crosses the Suez Canal, one of the most critical human-made waterways, in Ismailia, Egypt on December 29, 2023. Fareed Kotb | Anadolu | Getty Images The world’s largest shipping company, MSC, and several retail and trade experts warned Congress on Tuesday that if the Red Sea chaos caused by Houthi rebel attacks … Read more
FRANKFURT, Germany — Europe’s economy failed to expand at the end of 2023, dragging out the stagnation for more than a year amid higher energy prices, costlier credit and a downturn in former powerhouse Germany. Zero economic growth for the October-to-December period of last year follows a 0.1% contraction in the three months before that, … Read more
A ship transits the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on January 10, 2024 in Ismailia, Egypt. Sayed Hassan | Getty Images U.S. shipping costs are spiking as attacks in the Red Sea disrupt global trade, raising fears that inflation might pick up again if the disruption persists. The diversion of container ships from the … Read more
An Egyptian man sits and eats ice cream as he watches international cargo and tanker ships pass through the Suez canal Scott Nelson | Getty Images Several of the world’s major tanker companies on Friday halted traffic toward the Red Sea after U.S. and British airstrikes on Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen. Hafnia, Torm and … Read more
View of stranded boats at Alhajuela Lake during the summer drought, in Colon province, 50 km north of Panama City, Panama, on April 21, 2023. The Alhajuela lake is one of the main lakes that supplies water to the locks of the Panama Canal and is at its lowest level of recent years. Luis Acosta … Read more
MEXICO CITY — A leading Mexican business group said Wednesday the U.S. decision to temporarily close two railway border crossings into Texas is costing $100 million per day in delayed shipments. The Mexican Employers’ Association called on the U.S. to end the closure of rail crossings into Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, which started … Read more