Trendwatch: Three new services and a transpacific focus for Ocean Alliance in 2025; Retailers Continue to Front-Load Imports into U.S. Ports; Rail crisis sees boxes pile up at Dhaka – with Ramadan and Eid looming

Three new services and a transpacific focus for Ocean Alliance in 2025

The Ocean Alliance (OA) has announced its shipping network for 2025, which includes three new services and a major bet on the transpacific.

Yesterday, member carrier OOCL published the alliance’s updated schedule, to be fully implemented in April.

The network is notably weighted heavily in favour of the transpacific, with nine weekly services into the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex and five a week into the North American Pacific north-west gateways.

Retailers Continue to Front-Load Imports into U.S. Ports

Retailers are continuing to front-load their imports which is driving up the volumes seen at major U.S. ports. The National Retail Federation in its monthly read on container volumes expects the rush to get merchandise into the country will continue in part started by the fear of an East Coast port strike and now potential tariffs from the new Trump administration.

The Global Port Tracker showed an increase in volumes in the fall with November’s container imports up 14.7 percent over a year earlier. It was down slightly from October – 3 percent – but they also believed retailers were front-loading before the October International Longshoremen’s Association strike on the East Coast.

Rail crisis sees boxes pile up at Dhaka – with Ramadan and Eid looming

Box lines are increasingly concerned that an imbalance in Bangladesh’s rail capacity could cause chaos in the run-up to Ramadan and the April peak season, which coincides with this year’s Eid.

Over Eid, rail operators prioritise passenger services, and there are suggestions that railfreight movements could be halted for up to a week, resulting in as many as 3,000 teu of imports idling at Chittagong’s inland container depot by the end of April.

China exports accelerate amid trade tensions, imports surprise

China's exports gained momentum in December, with imports also showing recovery, though strength at the year-end was in part fuelled by factories rushing inventory overseas as they braced for heightened trade risks under a Trump presidency.

Exports have been a vital growth engine for the $18 trillion economy, which is still burdened by a prolonged property crisis and shaky consumer confidence. While policymakers can find solace in recent policy measures keeping the economy on track for an "around 5%" growth target, challenges such as potential U.S. tariff hikes cloud the outlook for 2025.

'Military asset' listing sees Cosco and CCA barred from Pentagon contracts

Pentagon officials have confirmed to The Loadstar that China Cargo Airlines and Cosco face being blacklisted from US government-related contracts.

The threat follows the firms being added to a list of Chinese commercial interests considered “military assets”, as reported by The Loadstar last week.

European airports cargo volumes on the up in 2024

Major European air cargo hubs saw their cargo volumes regain ground last year as passenger services continued to ramp up following the pandemic and on the back of a bumper year for the cargo market in general.

One of the fastest growers in Europe last year was Belgian cargo hub Liege which reported a 15.6% year-on-year increase in cargo demand to 1.2m tonnes - it’s second busiest year on record.

ZIM joins “Move to -15” coalition

ZIM announced its participation in the “Move to -15” coalition, a cross-industry alliance aiming to cut emissions in the cold chain sector by raising standard temperature of frozen cargo from -18°C to -15°C.

This small change could prevent an estimated 17.7 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually, according to the Israeli shipping company.

Delta’s 2024 cargo revenue up 14%

Delta Air Lines reported a 14% year-on-year increase in cargo operating revenue for 2024.

The US passenger airline reported cargo operating revenue of $822m for the year ended December 31, up from $723 in 2023.

Cargo performed especially well in the last quarter of the year, with operating revenue increasing 32% year on year to $249m.

Baltimore bridge disaster ship Dali completes repairs in China

Most people would recognise the Grace Ocean owned container ship Dali from the images of it with the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore harbour strewn across its bow that were screened in news broadcasts and stories around the global in late March 2024.

The once stricken vessel now looks as good as new having completed repairs at Fujian Huadong shipyard in China 10 days ahead of schedule.