Focus on major logistics events | The Panama Canal may face long-term drought!

01 The Panama Canal may face long-term drought

The Panama Canal looks set to remain low as the Central American nation has seen its lowest rainfall since 2000. From March to Aug. 22 this year, Panama received the lowest rainfall since the turn of the century, said Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has imposed draft and daily transit restrictions on the main waterway linking Asia with the east coast of the Americas and beyond.

According to the ACP report on August 24, there were about 117 ships waiting to cross the canal, compared with the normal level of about 90. Authorities prioritize ships with booked transits and say the average wait time for unbooked transits is nine to 11 days. Of the ships awaiting transit on Aug. 24, about 50 have reservations and the remaining 67 do not.

Looking ahead, the outlook for canal water levels is not rosy. The short-term outlook for September is "questionable," Davis said, with rainfall continuing to drop and temperatures above normal across Panama. Ilia Espino, deputy director of the Panama Canal Authority, said that if the area where the water body of the canal is located does not receive enough rainfall in the next few months, the restrictions on the passage of ships on the canal will be extended for one year.

02 A container ship accident involving multiple ports in China

According to foreign media, at around 11:35 p.m. on August 24, a container ship "CONTSHIP UNO" collided with a Japanese cargo ship "IZUMI MARU" on its way from Osaka to Keelung, Taiwan, China. "IZUMI MARU" capsized, 3 of the 5 crew members were rescued and 2 were missing. Search and rescue is underway.

It is understood that the container ship "CONTSHIP UNO", IMO: 9379026, was built in 2007, with a capacity of 1118TEU, and flew the flag of Liberia. The ship was deployed by TSL Dexiang on the Japanese route JTK2, and carried out voyage 23027N, calling at Hong Kong, Shekou and other ports in China and heading to Japan. In the future, it is expected that the ship will be adjusted to the TSL Dexiang JTK3 route, involving Hong Kong, Nansha, Shekou, Xiamen and other ports.

03 Saudi Ports Authority cooperates with the Port of Rotterdam

The Saudi Port Authority (Mawani) and the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, recently signed a cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation in smart port construction and other aspects.

The agreement covers several areas, including digital transformation to smart ports, marine environment support and green port initiatives. Under the new agreement, the two parties will cooperate in areas such as smart ports, human capital development, knowledge transfer and efficiency optimization.

According to media reports, the agreement will also further strengthen the cooperation between the two entities in the corporatization of the port.

04 Orient Overseas announced the results for the first half of the year

This week, Orient Overseas (International) Co., Ltd. (“OOIL”) announced its 2023 interim results. For the six months ended June 30, 2023, it recorded a profit attributable to shareholders of US.129 billion, compared with the profit for the same period in 2022. The profit was US.664 billion. EPS of .71 per common share in the first half of 2023, compared to .58 per common share in the first half of 2022.

OOCL believes that, as everyone expected, the market conditions of running at a high level in the past two or three years have come to an end. From the middle of last year to the first half of 2023, freight rates are in a long-term and stable correction process. Compared with the highs in 2020-2022, the reduction is undoubtedly staggering in both absolute and relative terms, but it only reflects how far the freight rate market has risen.

05 COSCO SHIPPING International announced its first-half results

In the first half of 2023, the operating income of COSCO SHIPPING International (Singapore) was S.174 million, a slight decrease of 2% compared with the first half of 2022. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the company was S.959 million, and the diluted earnings per share attributable to shareholders was SGD 0.09. Due to the decrease in investment income in associate companies and the increase in interest and water and electricity expenses, the company's net profit attributable to shareholders and earnings per share have dropped significantly compared with the same period last year.

In the first half of this year, the company's main business, integrated logistics, contributed S.6 million in revenue, accounting for 81% of the company's operating income; ship repair and steel structure construction contributed S.3 million in revenue, accounting for 11%; property management contributed S.3 million in revenue, accounting for 8%. In the integrated logistics business, warehousing, land transportation, automotive logistics and container yards contributed most of the revenue.

06 American Airlines pilots pass new contracts

American Airlines pilots passed a new union- and company-agreed contract that includes pay and benefit increases totaling more than .6 billion over four years, reflecting the bargaining power pilots have in an era of airline staffing shortages.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA) said 72.7 percent of pilots voted in favor of the deal, which would immediately boost pilot pay by more than 21 percent. Overall, American Airlines pilots' compensation will increase by more than 46 percent over the life of the contract.

07 Hong Kong International Airport's cargo volume continued to rise in July

It is reported that following the improvement in June, the cargo volume of Hong Kong International Airport continued to grow in July, showing year-on-year growth for the second consecutive month. Cargo traffic at the airport rose 3.8% year-on-year to 361,000 tonnes in July. There were declines in April and May.

"Exports contributed the most to overall cargo growth in July, up 12.6 percent year-on-year," the airport authority said. "Passenger traffic to and from key trading regions in North America, the Middle East and Europe rose sharply during the month." Top seven this year In March, cargo volumes fell 4.2% year-on-year to 2.4 million tonnes. The airport said cargo volumes this year have been impacted by global economic uncertainty.

08 South Korea's ship export volume in the first half of the year increased by 11.9% year-on-year

According to the Yonhap News Agency, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources of South Korea on August 22, the export value of South Korean ships in the first half of this year increased by 11.9% year-on-year to US.29 billion.

According to the analysis of the Ministry of Industry, the number of shipbuilding orders will gradually increase from 2021, and these orders will be delivered in the first half of this year. In addition, the price of ships at the time of accepting orders has increased compared with the previous one. These factors have driven the growth of ship export performance in the first half of the year.

09 MSC withdraws from acquisition of Livorno Container Terminal

Shipping company MSC has decided to withdraw its interest in acquiring Dal Sena Tuscany Terminal (TDT) in the Italian port of Livorno. Obstruction from competition regulators appears to be the most likely reason for the decision.

It is worth noting that Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), the port operating company owned by msc, announced the acquisition of the container terminal in January, but based on recent developments, the deal appears to have fallen apart.

According to Italia 24, Luciano Guerrieri, chairman of the North Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority (Adsp), said: "Whatever the reasons for MSC's withdrawal of the offer, the port of Livorno's potential remains open while hoping for a possible resumption of negotiations. constant.".

10 Saudi port container throughput increased in July

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) reported a consolidated container throughput of 753,496 TEU in July, 19% higher than the same period last year. More specifically, Mawani's data for July showed that export containers increased by 34.56% to 250,004 TEU from 185,791 TEU last year, and import containers increased by 30.09% from 180,329 TEU to 234,592 TEU.

Also, Mawani will register an annual growth rate of 0.41% in its transshipment segment to 268,901 TEUs in July 2023. On the other hand, cargo volumes in July fell by 9.84% to 25,096,888 tons this year from 27,836,906 tons in the same period last year.

It is reported that the vessel traffic volume in July was estimated at 1,017 vessels, an increase of 2.94% from 988 vessels in the same period last year, and the number of passengers was 57,730, a year-on-year increase of 32.57%.