As highlighted in a prior note (Data Insight: Soaring Ocean Freight Rates), shipping costs have soared over the last 18 months as bottlenecks in supply chains and increased consumer demand have put a strain on the shipping and logistics industry. AP Moeller-Maersk A/S (RIC: MAERSKb.CO), the world’s largest container shipping company, has been a strong beneficiary of this pricing environment. The Danish company has seen shares rise 47.6% year-to-date, which is the best year-to-date performance since 2005. Management has raised guidance three times this year, most recently on Sept. 16. It anticipates full-year earnings before interest & tax (EBIT) to

Shipping costs have soared over the last 18 months as bottlenecks in supply chains and increased consumer demand have put a strain on the shipping and logistics industry.  Adding further pressure is the fact that ships have been backlogged and sitting idle at various ports for months.  This will reduce the number of freight containers available which puts further pressure on freight prices. Using Refinitiv Eikon Workspace, we can look deeper into congestion levels at any port using the Interactive Map tool.  Specifically, we look at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, two of the most

Two railway operators have set out for the same destination, but with different chances of reaching it. Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway both want to buy U.S. rival Kansas City Southern. After Canadian Pacific’s $27 billion revised effort on Tuesday, the two have made offers that, boiled down, aren’t much different. Canadian Pacific’s currently looks more likely to happen, though, which gives it the edge. Both bidders covet an unbroken route from Canada to Mexico, traversing the United States. That should, each believes, entice a greater share of freight from road to rail. Kansas City agreed in March

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) gauges the volume of shipping activities across the globe. As a daily index, it is a useful, timely indicator to assess global economic activity. Refresh the chart in your browser | Edit chart in Datastream Throughout the month of January, the BDI tumbled by over 55%, hitting its trough on 11 February 2020. The index was last lower in 2015–16, when according to Fathom’s measure of underlying economic activity China’s economy was also slowing sharply. This latest downturn, which is on the back of a normalisation following the sharp uptick in global sentiment over the first half

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), which sets standards for marine fuel, will establish on Jan. 1 a new regulation that will significantly impact the shipping industry. Ships operating in non-emission-controlled areas will be required to reduce the sulphur content in marine fuel to 0.5% from 3.5% by weight. This is the second time in the last seven years that the sulphur cap has been reduced, the first being in 2012 when limits were reduced to 3.5% from 4.5%. The primary source for marine fuel is “bunker fuel,” a heavy residual fuel oil that is left over from the crude refining