US Aircraft maker Boeing has received 1,000 orders for new aircraft and delivered 528 planes compared to European rival Airbus, which trailed at 791 orders and 443 deliveries in the first nine months othe year.
According to the latest Airbus figures, the manufacturer received a total of 1,077 aircraft orders for the nine-month period, but cancelations and conversions of orders to different models reduced the total to 791, reported Air Cargo World.
This figure includes the conversion of IAG's draft purchase of eight A330-200 wide-bodies into firm orders for Madrid-based Iberia Airlines, as well as also 27 firm orders for medium-range A320 aircraft by low-cost carrier easyJet.
By the end of the year, Airbus said it still has plans to reach roughly the same level of deliveries as it did in 2013 (626) and expects to see the first deliveries of its long-anticipated A350 wide-body, which received flight safety certification by the European Union at the end of September. Leasing company AWAS also converted two orders of the slow-selling A350-800 aircraft to the larger A350-900 model last month.
Last week, Boeing reported 1,106 orders in the first nine months of 2014, adjusted to 1,000 after cancelations and order conversions. The company has a target range of 715 to 725 deliveries planned by the end of the year.

APM Terminal is building a new container facility in the port of Lazaro Cardenas, on the Mexican Pacific coast.
In 2012, APM Terminals signed a 32-year concession for the design, construction and operation of a new deepwater terminal at the port of Lazaro Cardenas. The project will represent an overall investment of $900m, said APMT in a statement.
The first phase of the construction, which has already begun, of Terminal 2 (TEC2) will include 750 metres of quay, five ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, 22 automatic stacking cranes and two railway cranes, and will be able to accommodate very large container vessels.
The first 300 metres of quay are scheduled to be ready in the first quarter of 2015, which will be followed by the installation of the container handling equipment. “The completed terminal, which will add 1.2m teu of annual throughput capacity, is projected to become operational in the first half 2016,” said APM Terminals.
The government of Mexico has announced plans to double port capacity over the next six years to meet anticipated trade growth, particularly on the transpacific trade lane but many port operators wonder if cargo volume will increase accordingly.
Mexico is the second largest economy in Latin America, and third largest container throughput in the region. Mexico president Pena Nieto by passing an energy law opening the sector to foreign investments, expects it will boost construction, shipping and offshore development in the next two years.
Mexican ports dominated by Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, totalled 4.87m teu in 2013. Manzanillo, which is Mexico’s largest container port, handled 2.1m teu in 2013, followed by Lazaro Cardenas, located 340 km farther down the coast in the Michoacán State, with 1.05m teu.
 

Twenty-Eight per cent of the containerships being scrapped this year will be less than 3,000 TEU, says Peter Sand, chief analyst at the shipowners Baltic International Maritime Council (BIMCO).
'It is important for the container companies to get the unit cost down,' he said. 'The small vessels are more than matched by the other ships.'
Mr Said said container shipping is most effective when unit costs are down, adding that it is not the big ships that are to blame for the crisis we are in, reported Hellenic Shipping News.
But big ships, that can be driven without major impact on the supply side, improve competition. 'The majors have realised this,' he said.
Mr Sand does not think we have seen the largest containerships to be built yet. 'We have not yet found a natural limit to how large containerships can be.'

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Evergreen have announced  the putting on additional vessels and port calls on services between Asia and South Africa.
Evergreen announced that from October it will be adjusting its existing FAX joint service with Cosco and contributing vessels to the ASA service currently operated by Mitsu OSK Lines (MOL), K Line and Pacific International Lines (PIL).
Both Cosco and Evergreen's FAX service and the ASA service run in partnership with K Line, MOL and PIL will get two 4,200 teu vessels added by Evergreen.
The new ASA central or FAX service will run Shanghai – Ningbo – Keelung – Singapore – Durban – Singapore – Shanghai with six vessels of 4,200 - 5,800 teu in size.
The new ASA or ASA south service will have seven vessels of between 4,200 - 5,800 teu calling Kaohsiung – Xiamen – Hong Kong – Shekou – Singapore – Port Klang – Durban – Cape Town – Port Klang – Singapore – Kaohsiung.

Shanghai, the world's biggest container port, posted a 5.4 per cent year-on-year increase in August volume to 3.11 million TEU, the highest monthly throughput this year, according to the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG).
August container volume also increased 1.6 per cent month-on-month over July, data from SIPG showed.
From January to August 2014, Shanghai port handled a total throughput of 23.44 million TEU, up 5.3 per cent year on year.

Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) will only have to obtain antitrust approval from the United States and not Europe or China, said Maersk Group CEO Nils Andersen.
Only in the US will the pair need clearance from the Federal Maritime Commission before starting their vessel-sharing agreement covering the east-west trades, he said in announcing second quarter results.
The American regulator holds a review of any notified agreement, although can stop the clock while seeking further information, noted Lloyd's List.
While the former P3 Network was scrapped after China declared it unlawful, the 2M alliance is a much simpler and will be treated differently, said Mr Andersen during a conference call. 

Container throughput in the port of Singapore remained unchanged in July on a year-on-year comparison, according to preliminary estimates by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Last month’s box volumes were recorded at 2.95m, unchanged from the same period in 2012, data from MPA showed.

Throughput in July, however, rose 3.9% compared to 2.84m teu posted in June this year.
In the first seven months of 2014, Singapore handled a total throughput of 19.45m teu, an increase of 3.6% over 18.77m teu moved in the previous corresponding period.

Maersk has announced the appointment of Dan Lauritzen as the manager for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, overseeing sales, customer service, operations and finance.

Mr Lauritzen joined Maersk in 1996 and spent most of his career in commercial and operational roles in Asia, Africa and Europe, before heading up sales in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei from 2008 to 2011.

Most recently, he was based in Ethiopia for three years as the Cluster Top for Horn of Africa. He will be replacing Bjarne Foldager who has assumed a new role in Maersk Tankers in Copenhagen.
'I am very excited about my new role as the business environment in the countries is so diverse and dynamic. We have large local companies and many of our key clients have a growing presence in Malaysia and Singapore,' he said.

'The Malaysian and Singaporean export markets offer a great mix of commodities such as palm oil as well as products higher up the value chain - furniture, rubber products and electronics,' Mr Lauritzen said.

Strong Chinese exports for the month of June triggered an increase in shipping and port operations worldwide.
Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) reports that the analysts expect favourable export tides to flow over to the second half of 2014, with some analysts projecting a double-digit improvements year-on-year.
The latest customs data reveal that the exports reached USD 186.8bn, an increase of 7.2% year-on year in June.
Shipments heading to the United States rose by 7.5% compared to last year, while the shipments on course to the European Union saw an ever steeper incline of 13.1%.
The latest container volume figures best reflect the overall increase in exports.
The largest container port in the world, Shanghai, marked a 11% increase of containers handled, with the port of Guandong marking an increase of 5.3%.
The numbers reached in May and June are head and shoulders above the stats reported for the first months of the year.

An improved sentiment prevails in trans-Atlantic Panamax freight rates as demand tightens for tonnage capacity.

Several routes saw freight rise, according to Platts’ data, those being Virginia-Rotterdam coal route (improved to $9.25/mt on Friday, up from $9/mt), Alabama-Rotterdam coal route,  also increased and was assessed at $12.75/mt, up from $12.5/mt, Baltic-UK Continent runs with time-charter rates at $5,750/d basis UKC delivery, up from $5,250/d along with the Ventspils, Latvia-Rotterdam route which also increased for 25 cents, reaching $6/mt on Friday.
'With August historically being a quiet month in terms of activity, the current bottleneck is likely to be cleared soon, making the market even more reliant on the grain season in the Black Sea and US Gulf.

An increasing volume of stems has already been heard working from the Black Sea with most of those being wheat exports from the Ukraine and Russia,' Platts said.
As shipping sources indicated, this might make trans-Atlantic runs to the Mediterranean and Black sea, more attractive for shipowners, despite a complicated geo-political situation in the region.
'It does feel a bit more positive in the North Atlantic,' said an operator.
'There is still a tonnage bottleneck for promptish cargoes, so we might see further improvements if the cargoes keep flowing next week.'

The Chinese government and the influential China Shipowners' Association (CSA) have expressed concerns over the recently proposed 2M container shipping alliance between Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).
Shang Ming, chief of the anti- monopoly bureau at China's ministry of commerce, said in an interview to the local media that the formation of the 2M alliance may result in lower bargaining power for China's import and export enterprises.

The potential freight shipping price monopoly by 2M would hence lead to higher costs of consumer goods, Shang believed.
Zhang Shouguo, executive vice chairman of CSA, anticipated that the 2M alliance would further raise the competitiveness of Maersk Line and MSC, posing greater challenges for Chinese shipping lines.
Zhang pointed out that while seven of the world's top 10 businest container ports are in China, Chinese shipping carriers only accounted for less than one-third of the market share.

The proposed 2M alliance is a 10-year vessel sharing agreement between Maersk Line and MSC on the Asia-Europe, transatlantic and transpacific container trade lanes. The alliance will encompass 185 vessels with a capacity of 2.1m teu deployed on 21 strings.
The announcement of the 2M alliance on 10 July comes less than four week after the grander P3 alliance between Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM was rejected by China.

Both Zhang and Shang did not specifically object to the 2M alliance, but they highlighted that the global market share of Maersk Line and MSC is 14.5% and 13.4% respectively, giving them a total share of 27.9%. In Asia alone, the combined market share of Maersk Line and MSC could be up to 35.8%.
Given that the P3 fell at the hurdle of the Chinese approval, all eyes will be on the Chinese authority's reactions to 2M.
China's ministry of commerce had rejected the P3 alliance due to its combined 47% market share on the Asia-Europe trade, potentially bringing about 'adverse effects on restricting competition'.

Hanjin Shipping saw its losses extend in the second quarter of 2014 over the previous corresponding period due mainly to foreign currency translation loss, but its container shipping business returned to profit.

Net profit in the second quarter widened to KRW199.8bn ($195m) compared to a deficit of KRW80.4bn in the same period of 2013. South Korea's Hanjin Shipping attributed the results to foreign currency translation loss of KRW122.8bn from appreciation of KRW against USD.

Revenue during the quarter fell 14.1% year-on-year to KRW2.15trn.

The company's container division, however, recorded operating profit of KRW37.5bn, turning around from an operating loss of KRW35.8bn a year ago, as a result of various cost cutting efforts such as rationalisation of unprofitable routes, bunker price saving and reduction of operating costs.
The slow dry bulk market saw Hanjin Shipping's bulk division posted an operating loss of KRW24.9bn, narrowing from a loss of KRW44.4bn a year earlier.

Looking ahead, Hanjin Shipping expects an increase in container shipping volumes as the market enters the peak season. As for the dry bulk market, Hanjin Shipping said that an increase in iron ore exports from major US exporters is likely to gradually normalise the market.
As of 30 June 2014, Hanjin Shipping secured KRW300bn after it completed the spin-off of its dedicated dry bulk business in a bid to improve its debt-to-equity ratio and financial structure.

Hanjin Shipping's debts worth KRW1.3trn has been transferred to newly spun-off joint venture firm H-Line Shipping Co, which is 22.2% owned by Hanjin Shipping and 77.8% owned by private equity firm Hahn & Company.

Singapore's economy grew by 2.1 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, and half as fast as the first quarter's 4.7 per cent growth.

Year on year, the manufacturing sector grew 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, moderating from the 9.9 per cent in the previous quarter, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The decline was attributed to a contraction in electronics output and slower growth in transport and engineering.
The construction sector rose by five per cent on a year-on-year basis, compared to 6.4 per cent in the preceding quarter on a slowdown in private sector construction activities.

The services producing industries increased by 2.8 per cent, following the 3.9 per cent growth in the first quarter, on the back of slower expansion in the wholesale and retail trade and transportation and storage sectors.

Danish shipping giant Maersk Line, the world No 1 container carrier, has announced a US$450 per TEU freight rate increase on the Asia-northern Europe trade lane effective August 1.

On average, spot rates between Asia and Northern Europe fell 5.5 per cent to $1,230 per TEU in the week ending Friday. Container shipping companies are aiming for higher rates from August 1.

Rate increases announced so far include $550 per TEU by CMA CGM, $1,000 per TEU by Hapag-Lloyd and $600 per TEU by Hanjin Shipping. Full increases announced vary from 36 to 81 per cent, but only 62 per cent of announced price hikes for July 1 were implemented successfully, said Reuters.
 

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are preparing shippers for low-sulphur fuel surcharges of up to US$150 per FEU when regulations are enforced in the Emission Control Areas (ECAs) of Europe and North America, reports London's Loadstar.

So far only Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have announced an intention to recover the extra cost of the low-sulphur fuel - currently at $900 per tonne, some 50 per cent more than standard bunker.

Maersk Line said it will buy 650,000 tonnes of low-sulphur fuel a year, or seven per cent of its annual bunker needs, at an additional cost of around $250 million.
As yet, Hapag-Lloyd has not indicated the level of its ECA surcharge, telling its customers they will be informed in a 'timely manner'. The regulations come into force in January.

Shippers will likely point to the already considerable fuel savings that container lines have achieved as a result of slow steaming or reduced slot cots resulting from the economies of scale new mega ships provide.

Feeders face an uneven playing field. Those using hub ports in the English Channel, North Sea and the Baltic must burn costly low sulphur fuel all the time, but those using British west coast and Irish ports are free of such regulations.