Trendwatch: Container alliance reshuffle boosts Port of Hamburg volumes; U.S. Imports From China Fall to 13.4%, Lowest Share in Decades; Heavy rain paralyses life in India's financial capital Mumbai

Container alliance reshuffle boosts Port of Hamburg volumes

Container throughput drove cargo volume improvement at the German Port of Hamburg in the first half of the year.

The port handled 4.2 million teu in the first half of the year up 9.3% year-on-year, with an 11.6% growth in imports, and a 6.9% increase in exports. Containers accounted for 41.2 million tonnes of a total general cargo throughput at the port of 57.8 million tonnes in the first half of 2025, up 3.6% year-on-year. The port said the volumes of dry bulk and conventional cargo “decreased slightly”.

U.S. Imports From China Fall to 13.4%, Lowest Share in Decades

New U.S. Census data shows that in 2024, China accounted for just 13.4% of all U.S. goods imports, down sharply from 22% in 2018. That’s the lowest share in decades, reflecting how tariffs, rising costs, and shifting supply chains are remaking trade.

Tariffs aren’t just shifting where products come from. They’re eating into profits and forcing companies to adapt fast. A recent report from Enable found that 76% of U.S. businesses believe tariffs are already cutting into their bottom lines, and many are forced to raise prices to keep up.

Heavy rain paralyses life in India's financial capital Mumbai

Heavy rains in India's financial capital Mumbai have disrupted the lives of millions of people, submerging roads and leading to flight and train cancellations.

Many parts of the city remain inundated in waist-deep water, with videos showing residents swimming through waterlogged roads as garbage gushed out from clogged sewers.

Panama Canal celebrates 111 years

The Panama Canal marks 111 years of operations, renewing its commitment to a sustainable future through a water strategy focused on public well-being and an operational vision that enhances the country’s logistical competitiveness.

Since the waterway’s inauguration in 1914, with the historic transit of the steamship Ancón, which, for the first time, connected the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the canal has been a driver of Panama’s economic and social development while also a transformer of global maritime trade.

Air Canada strike ends but normal cargo operations will take time

Air Canada said it would gradually restart its operations today after a strike, which put around 75% or more of air cargo volumes at risk of disruption and delays, was brought to an end.

The airline's operations have been grounded since 16 August, but in a press release this morning Air Canada said it would restart operations after reaching a mediated agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge.

Key LA-Long Beach truck, rail metrics unfazed by record container surge

Record-setting container volumes failed to flummox local trucking at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in July.

The busiest U.S. import gateway complex said marine terminal fluidity remained stable, with relatively low dwell times for both truck and rail cargo in the face of surging frontloaded volumes and tariff-twisted fluctuations in seaport traffic.

South Africa to Allow Exporter Collaboration as Tariffs Kick In

South Africa’s trade department has drafted proposed regulations that will allow exporters to collaborate to ease the impact of 30% tariffs the U.S. levied on imports from the nation.

The regulations, which the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition published for public comment on August 12, will stay in place for five years, it said. 

Port of Rotterdam Authority starts trial with donkeys grazing in the Geuzenbos

Donkeys will maintain a nature reserve in the port of Rotterdam. This is the approach behind the Port of Rotterdam Authority's trial to release three Spanish donkeys into the Geuzenbos. The animals will help reduce the proliferation of sea buckthorn along the area's pipeline corridor.

Successful partnership: Korean Air Cargo and Vienna Airport extend cooperation in cargo handling

Korean Air Cargo continues to rely on the proven cargo handling quality of Vienna Airport. A four-year extension of the existing handling contract between the airport and the Korean airline has been signed and will now run until the end of 2028. Thus, Vienna Airport is continuing its successful partnership with Korean Air Cargo, which has been in place since the airline's first flight to Vienna in 2004.