Maritime Safety News Archives - Page 22 of 260 - SHIP IP LTD

The leveling off of demand and even declines in container volumes appear to be finally creating good news for shippers. After nearly two years when the balance of power shifted to the carriers, the recent market changes are helping shippers with the spot rate for standard containers set to fall below a threshold in September and transit times falling despite the industry being in a traditional peak season.

After repeated reports of falling spot prices, technology platform provider Shifl reports that its data analysis shows that the shipping rate for a standard 40-foot container from China to the U.S. West Coast is set to fall for the first time in approximately 20 months below the $5,000 threshold.

Shifl forecasts that the September spot rate between China and Southern California on average will drop to $4,900 for a 40-foot box. That would be a decline of 72 percent year-over-year from a high of $17,500 a year ago in September 2021. Rates, however between China and the U.S. East Coast have shown a smaller decline. Shifl points out that they are expected to be down 54 percent, or an average of $8,900 compared to $19,500 in September 2021.

“While spot rates continue to decline, they are still more than three times higher than they were prior to the pandemic,” comments Shabsie Levy, CEO and Founder of Shifl. “The rates, however, are at levels far lower than at the beginning of 2022, when consumer demand was very high. The pace of this continued decline points to the market returning to some semblance of the new normal.”

The continued decline in spot rates, Shifl predicts, will place continued pressure on the carriers. Carriers in their most recent financial reports highlighted that long-term contract rates were contributing to their extraordinary profits. Shifl’s analysis reports that for major lines such as Maersk and ONE, volumes were down overall in the second quarter with multi-year contracts accounting for up to 70 percent of their container moves.

“As the spot market rates continue to drop, carriers will be forced to renegotiate long-term contract rates that were set at the previous higher levels. Some customers have contracts that have built-in rider clauses pegging them with spot rates,” said Levy.

The declines in volumes are also benefitting shippers in other ways. Transit times are down on major routes despite persistent reports of port congestion in some areas such as the U.S. East Coast. However, even on the routes to the East Coast Shifl reports transit times peaked at 50 days in April and since then are down to 46 days on average.

The improvement has been more dramatic to the U.S. West Coast ports. From China, the average transit time is down from 50 days in December 2021 to an average of 32 days to the California ports.

Levy points out that the progress, however, is marginal when considering that transit times are still twice what they were between China and the U.S. West Coast before the pandemic. Transit times between China and New York are also 1.7 times longer than before the pandemic.

Part of the problem with transit times may be the continued congestion in ports primarily from empties. Shifl’s analysis shows that gate-out times for full import containers have increased. In Los Angeles, for example, Shifl reports gate-out times were up one day from June to July while in New York they jumped one day from May to the current plateau at four days.

These declines spell good news for both shippers and potentially U.S. consumers. Lower shipping prices should help to ease inflation and the out-of-stock conditions experienced during the surge in volumes.  The easing in the market aligns with the forecast from many of the leading carriers that said they expected normalization in the markets coming by the third or fourth quarter of 2022.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/spot-rates-drop-to-20-month-low-improving-shippers-outlook

• Global chemical distributors belonging to International Chemical Trade Association have endorsed a safety guidance issued by organizations engaged in moving dangerous goods

• A white paper, “Safety Guidance for Dangerous Goods Storage and Handling Facilities,” along with “Warehouse Checklist,” was issued last December by four global trade groups

• ICTA promotes safe and sustainable chemical supply chains based on chemical distributors deep knowledge of chemicals and global markets

Global chemical traders have backed a safety guidance issued last December by a collective of organizations engaged in handling and moving dangerous goods.

Its latest endorser is International Chemical Trade Association (ICTA), which promotes safe and sustainable chemical supply chains. ICTA says it believes the chemical distribution industry has a key role in enabling chemistry to make a positive societal impact.

“Chemical supply chains rely on an interplay of different actors to deliver dangerous goods safely across the globe,” said Douglas Leech, chairman of the ICTA Transport & Security Committee.

Leech was quoted in a press release issued on August 18 by the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA), one of four global trade groups that issued the white paper, entitled “Safety Guidance for Dangerous Goods Storage and Handling Facilities.”

A pivotal element of the white paper is a warehouse checklist. A practical management tool, the checklist format is a significant addition to the other elements of the white paper.

Broken down into eight key functional areas of operation, the warehouse checklist’s 14 pages are designed to be comprehensive yet easily digestible as an everyday device for maintaining safety management vigilance.

“Chemical distributors cooperate closely with [logistics] and warehousing companies to make this happen. These guidelines will help them to jointly prevent incidents in their warehouses – keeping workers, neighbors, and the environment safe,” said Leech.

ICTA said that, aside from taking responsibility for their own operations, chemical distributors interact with their customers and suppliers to help them to work more safely and securely.

ICTA considers the white paper and the safety efforts that it represents as a step forward in guiding operators to improve their already high standards.

The safety guidance issuers were ICHCA, International Vessel Owners Dangerous Goods Association (IVODGA), National Cargo Bureau (NCB) and World Shipping Council (WSC). They are global trade organizations that drew on their combined expertise and experience in moving dangerous goods around the world to produce the guidance.

Richard Steele, ICHCA chief executive, welcomed the additional support from ICTA. “To make a real difference to the standards of safety in supply chains that feature hazardous materials, it is vital to reach all involved and create a critical mass of like-minded partners,” he said.

“The endorsement of our work by such an authoritative voice as ICTA is therefore decidedly welcome,” Steele said in the press release.

ICTA now joins a number of influential industry stakeholders that have endorsed the guidelines.

The early endorsers were Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), Bureau International des Containers (BIC), Container Owners Association (COA), Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles (COSTHA), Danish Shipping, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA), International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I) and Through Transport Mutual Insurance Association Ltd (TT Club).

Both the “Dangerous Goods Warehousing White Paper” and the “Warehouse Checklist” are downloadable at  https://ichca.com/warehousing-safety-guidance

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. It provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

Source: https://www.portcalls.com/chemical-traders-back-guidance-moving-dangerous-goods/