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PRESS RELEASE TOPIC
Shippers See Some Port Calls Skipped, Cargo Rolled

Route changes come “in less than an organized fashion” says OWL chief


Bill Mongelluzzo, Associate Editor | Oct 25, 2011 1:24PM GMT The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story Container Lines | Container Shipping | Maritime | United States



Some trans-Pacific ocean carriers are skipping port calls and holding back vessel departures if bookings are weak, illustrating how feeble the peak shipping season has been and how aggressive carriers will get in the coming months to manage overcapacity.

Ocean World Lines CEO Dan Gardner said carriers have made route changes “in less than an organized fashion” as they grapple with overcapacity and declining freight rates in the eastbound Pacific.

Capacity shortages could worsen if more carriers discontinue vessel strings for several months this winter. Imports normally spike for a brief period in January or February as factories in China churn up production before closing for lunar New Year celebrations, which could last up to two weeks, Gardner told the Footwear Traffic Distribution and Customs Conference Monday.

Some carriers also canceled voyages in the first week of October to coincide with the shutdown of Chinese factories for the Asian country’s annual National Day celebration. Only 129 container vessels totaling 227,000 20-foot equivalent container units of capacity have been laid up worldwide so far, said Gardner. That amounts to 1.8 percent of total global capacity. By contrast, during the depth of the 2009 recession, 723 vessels were laid up just in Singapore alone, he said. “We can’t do anything about being rolled,” said Charlie Kantz, vice president of logistics and warehousing at Bakers Footwear Group.

Kantz said he was surprised some of his containers booked to leave Asian ports last week missed intended voyages because of vessel capacity shortage. If there really was a space problem in Asia in recent weeks, it was probably “artificial,” he said.


-- Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @billmongelluzzo.
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INCREASE IN MEDIA PRICES BOON OR BANE, CHECK OUT THE BELOW ARTICLE ~
    CMC CHAIRMAN WONG

Optical-Disc Industry is Sellers’ Market Now: CMC Chairman Wong

Taipei, June 10, 2011 (CENS)--Thanks to excessive demand, the profit margins for optical-disc makers have turned positive, while CD-R disc prices are expected to rise by 20% in the second half, according to CMC Magnetics Corp. chairman Robert Wong.

Ritek Corp., another major optical-disc maker in Taiwan, also pointed out that disc prices have been rising this year due to rising material prices, adding that disc prices are expected to further climb in the third quarter.

Wong said that many local optical-disc makers have been withdrawing from the business, while some Japanese disc makers also stopped production after the massive earthquake in March. CMC has raised all its disc prices by an average 30% in March.

The supply shortage of CD-R discs has pushed up prices by about 40% since early this year, the first since 2009, Wong said, while the price adjustment has been accepted by customers.

The chairman pointed out that the optical-disc sector has turned into a sellers’ market to benefit CMC`s future operation.

CMC is very optimistic toward sales in the second half, saying that flooding orders are filling production lines throughout the year-end, and may raise prices, while predicting fourth quarter operations to turn profitable.