Sea

Against the odds: Wayfair art thou, Romeo?

Online retailer Wayfair (W) from Boston’s Back Bay, ’the Amazon of all things furniture’ went public in 2014 attracting a valuation of $3bn. Attacking the $840bn home goods market, destined to grow to some $1.2trn by 2030, according to the company’s projections…
… co-founders Niraj Shah (CEO) and Steve Conine (both pictured below) have focused on gaining market share ever since 2002, when it was founded.
Now worth $15.6bn with its stock bouncing …

The post Against the odds: Wayfair art thou,...

https://theloadstar.com/against-the-odds-wayfair-art-thou-romeo/

Large swell in 22-knot wind caused idling Madrid Bridge to roll and lose boxes

New evidence has emerged as to the cause of the container collapse on the ONE-operated Madrid Bridge, which has the dubious distinction of being the first overboard box incident of 2022.
An initial investigation – a copy of which has been passed to The Loadstar – reveals that the vessel had begun idling south of the Azores, in the mid-Atlantic, on 2 January to delay its arrival at the port of New …

The post Large swell in 22-knot wind caused idling Madrid Bridge to roll and lose boxes appeared...

https://theloadstar.com/large-swell-in-22-knot-wind-caused-idling-madrid-bridge-to-roll-and-lose-boxes/

Port of Saint John on a roll, thanks to potash and beefed-up rail services

Potash has been a tremendous fuel for growth at the Canadian port of Saint John; the New Brunswick port clocked up 11% higher tonnage last year than in 2020.
But its dry bulk traffic was on fire, surging a whopping 123%, with potash the main driver for this, more than doubling, from 619,203 tonnes in 2020 to 1,653,750 tonnes.
Dry bulk may have been the star performer, but most eyes have been …

The post Port of Saint John on a roll, thanks to potash and beefed-up rail services appeared first on Th...

https://theloadstar.com/port-of-saint-john-on-a-roll-thanks-to-potash-and-beefed-up-rail-services/

DFDS reports return of freight through Dover after pre-Brexit stock-building

Following a dip in freight volumes in December, ferry operator DFDS reports truck crossings on Dover to Calais and Dunkirk routes have increased and could surpass January 2020 and 2019 figures.
According to the carrier, December cargo volumes, adjusted to account for route changes, were down 9.8% on the same month of 2020, but up 17% compared with 2019.
“The decrease in total volumes compared with 2020 was entirely due to lower …

The post DFDS reports return of freight through Dover after...

https://theloadstar.com/dfds-reports-return-of-freight-through-dover-after-pre-brexit-stock-building/

Carrier ‘gravy train’ steams ahead, thanks to congestion and new contracts

Despite a weakening in demand, ocean carriers will bank another $200bn of profit between them this year.
In its latest Container Forecaster report, maritime consultant Drewry said it was downgrading its 2022 outlook for world port throughput to 4.6%, from its previous assessment of 5.2%.
This is due to “fast-rising inflation” and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks which, it said, were “conspiring to slow the pace of growth”.
Nonetheless, Drewry says it expects the …

The post Carrier ‘gravy train’...

https://theloadstar.com/carrier-gravy-train-steams-ahead-thanks-to-congestion-and-new-contracts/

Geodis to reward managers who drive its global gender diversity aims

Promotion of gender parity will be reflected in Geodis’s bonus structure, as it looks set to reach its target of at least 25% women in management positions by 2023.
Top managers who work to promote women will be rewarded financially, said CEO Marie-Christine Lombard (pictured), noting that women are already represented on all the company’s regional management committees.
“We now want to go further,” she added.
The new Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) …

The post Geodis to reward managers...

https://theloadstar.com/geodis-to-reward-managers-who-drive-its-global-gender-diversity-aims/

Ellerman relaunches as trend for box ship chartering by forwarders matures

The completion of a second China-UK sailing by Ellerman City Liners suggests the trend for logistics operators to charter containerships has moved into a more mature phase.
This week saw the arrival of the 2,756 teu Cape Hellas at the port of Tilbury, from the Chinese ports of Taicang and Ningbo, the second Ellerman vessel to call  this month, implying that ad hoc box vessel charters are evolving into something that …

The post Ellerman relaunches as trend for box ship chartering by forwarders...

https://theloadstar.com/ellerman-relaunches-as-trend-for-box-ship-chartering-by-forwarders-matures/

MSC and Lufthansa in joint bid to take over Italy’s new ITA Airways

The vertical integration and modal mash-up continues. The Loadstar reveals today that a forwarder has started a shipping line and now a shipping line is looking at buying an airline.
MSC has told the Italian government it wants to buy a stake in the new airline, ITA Airways, which began operations in October, replacing defunct Alitalia.
And it’s doing it in partnership with Lufthansa.
As previously reported, Lufthansa has expressed an interest in …

The post MSC and Lufthansa in joint bid to take...

https://theloadstar.com/msc-and-lufthansa-in-joint-bid-to-take-over-italys-new-ita-airways/

M&A radar: MSC & Lufthansa go for legacy Alitalia – just sublime

At The Loadstar Towers, we could barely contain our excitement yesterday when news broke that MSC Group and Lufthansa were going for ITA Airways, the ‘rejuvenated’ Alitalia (whatever is left of it), Italy’s flag carrier.
Which smells of sensational deal-making – strategic, too?
Uhmm 
“Today MSC Group has expressed to the Italian Government its interest in acquiring a majority stake in ITA Airways,” the statement read, adding that Germanys’ Lufthansa, the “project’s industrial partner”, …

The...

https://theloadstar.com/ma-radar-msc-lufthansa-go-for-legacy-alitalia-just-sublime/

OOCL ‘supercharged’ record final-quarter earnings tempered by falling volumes

Huge increases in freight rates last year are likely to lead to container carriers reporting record fourth-quarter earnings, despite carrying fewer volumes than in Q4 20.
This morning, Cosco-owned OOCL released its fourth-quarter operational update that reported volumes across its four main trades declined by 16.9% to 1.85m teu, compared with Q4 20’s 2.23m.
The financial performance, however, was markedly different, with total revenues more than doubling, from $2.4bn in the fourth …

The post OOCL...

https://theloadstar.com/oocl-supercharged-record-final-quarter-earnings-tempered-by-falling-volumes/

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