ONE Unveils New South Korea to North Vietnam Service 20 December 2019

Ocean Network Express (ONE) announces details of the new Korea Haiphong Express (KHX) service. Connecting North Vietnam, South Korea and South China, the new KHX service offers improved service coverage and comprehensive port connections for ONE’s valued customers.

The KHX service, which will be the first within ONE’s network to call Incheon, will provide shippers direct and fast coverage from North Vietnam to South Korea and South China to Incheon.

The KHX service coverage, an addition to ONE’s current Japan Vietnam Haiphong (JVH) service which connects Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to Haiphong, is an enhancement to ONE’s Intra-Asia Haiphong service network. KHX and JVH rotation as follows:

Korea Haiphong Express (KHX) Incheon – Pusan – Hong Kong – Haiphong – Shekou – Incheon

Japan Vietnam Haiphong Service (JVH) Yokohama – Tokyo – Shimizu – Nagoya – Kobe – Moji – Hakata – Pusan – Keelung – Kaohsiung – Haiphong – Kaohsiung – Yokohama

The new KHX service is scheduled to begin from January 2020.

 

CMA CGM Seals Deal to Sell Stakes in 10 Port Terminals to Terminal Link

French shipping and logistics major CMA CGM Group has signed an agreement with China Merchants Port (CMP) to sell a portfolio of stakes in ten port terminals to their joint venture Terminal Link.

CMA CGM plans to cash in USD 968 million from the transaction, which is expected to close in spring 2020, pending approval by antitrust authorities and the relevant regulatory bodies.

“The transaction will enable Terminal Link, a joint-venture set up in 2013 and owned 51% by CMA CGM and 49% by CMP, to broaden its geographic footprint and reinforce its growth potential by giving it equity stakes in ten additional terminals,” the French giant said.

The terminals in question are:

• Odessa Terminal (Ukraine)
• CMA CGM PSA Lion Terminal (CPLT) (Singapore)
• Mundra Terminal (India)
• Kingston Freeport Terminal (Jamaica)
• Rotterdam World Gateway (Netherlands)
• Gemalink (Cai Mep, Vietnam)
• Qingdao Qianwan United Advance Container Terminal (China)
• Vietnam International Container Terminal (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
• Laem Chabang International Terminal (Thailand)
• Umm Qasr Terminal (Iraq)

The sale is part of the group’s plan announced in November, whereby CMA CGM plans to cut its debt and raise more than USD 2 billion by mid-2020 in additional cash through the sale of vessels and terminal stakes while extending its debt maturities and reducing its debt by more than USD 1.3 billion.

Hapag-Lloyd taps Blume Global for managing global drayage

The fifth-largest ocean carrier picks the leading provider of container management technology to handle its inland container haulage worldwide. 

The fifth-largest ocean carrier by capacity said it will use a platform from Blume Global “to support its entire global network of motor carrier partners.” Hapag-Lloyd will begin its rollout of the Blume Global platform starting in North America in January.

The company’s logistics platform, which was launched last year and uses application programming interface (API) connectivity and transport management system (TMS) integration, will connect Hapag-Lloyd’s motor carriers to provide “settlement workflow,” Blume said. This includes dispatching, managing drayage rates, appointment scheduling, accessorial charges, live tracking, proof of delivery, invoicing and other reporting capabilities.  

Hapag-Lloyd’s North American president Uffe Ostergaard said the agreement with Blume stems from customer demand for better tracking and reporting of container movements once off the ship.

“Our North American customers are asking for enhanced end-to-end shipment visibility to better manage their supply chains and by implementing this integrated cloud-based solution we will be able to offer that value-added service,” Ostergaard said. 

Blume Global, formerly known as Rez-1, provides the technology for tracking and managing containers, as well as automating payments, for intermodal carriers and railroads. The Pleasanton, California-based company is a portfolio company of Apollo Global Management. 

In July, Fenix Marine Services, the second-largest marine terminal in the Port of Los Angeles, said it would tap Blume’s software to help manage its container volumes. 

“Blume Logistics helps companies successfully manage logistics execution across the supply chain network, and around the world, with first- and last-mile shipment visibility and control over transportation spending. It also improves customer service quality and enhanced vendor relations,” said Pervinder Johar, chief executive officer of Blume Global.

 

ONE making ocean freight slots visible on digital exchange

Ocean Network Express (ONE) said it will start offering container slots on a digital exchange as it seeks to “further enhance customer experience.” 

The joint venture of Japan’s three largest shipping companies, ONE will tap the New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX) to offer trans-Pacific eastbound container space. January sailing slots will be available on the platform from mid-December onward, it said. 

NYSHEX’s platform offers shippers a guaranteed space and rate for booking ocean freight with steamship lines. The mutually enforceable contract requires that the liner operator not roll the cargo to another sailing and the shipper actually have the cargo at the dock in time for the sailing. 

“Having our customer’s commitment to show up with their cargo as contracted allows us to optimize our network and more accurately plan our vessels, which in turn provides cost-effective and reliable services,” said Sundeep Sibal, senior vice president at ONE.

ONE did not say how much space it will be offering on the platform. NYSHEX said that ONE’s offers on the platform will be dynamic, meaning they can adjust the price and the allocation in real time.

ONE has 14 services running between China and the U.S. on the trans-Pacific lane. Through October, ONE had average monthly container liftings of 230,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on its trans-Pacific eastbound services, with utilization averaging 90%.     

“We are thrilled to welcome ONE as a carrier member of the exchange,” said Gordon Downes, chief executive of NYSHEX. “The ONE approach to container shipping today is refreshing and relevant. We look forward to the continued collaboration and innovation.” 

ONE joins NYSHEX’s other carrier members, which include Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, CMA CGM, OOCL, COSCO and Hyundai Merchant Marine. 

Since its August 2017 launch, NYSHEX’s platform has handled over 75,000 TEU in bookings. It said it will enhance its platform in 2020 to support more customizable terms for carriers and shippers, including multiple origins and destinations and longer valid dates for a contract.

 

China marks Jan. 1 with tariff reduction on 850 products

The Chinese government said the tariff reductions will help expand imports of key consumer products.

The Chinese government has announced that it will reduce import tariffs on 850 products starting Jan. 1.

China’s State Council Customs Tariff Commission in Beijing approved the reductions on Dec. 23.

“The adjustments will be made to expand imports, promote the coordinated development of trade and environment, advance the high-quality development of the jointly building of the Belt and Road,” the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Customs Tariff Commission said the new import tariffs will be lower than the most-favored-tariff levels currently in place for the 850 products, such as frozen pork and avocados, orange juice, specialty metals for electronics and paper and wood products. Some imports, such as the chemicals used to manufacture asthma and diabetes treatments, will have zero tariffs.

Xinhua said the tariff reductions should “moderately increase the import of daily consumer goods that are relatively scarce in the country or have foreign characteristics to better meet people’s needs.”

On Dec. 19, China’s Customs Tariff Commission announced the initiation of a second round of tariff exemptions on U.S. imports, following the recent phase one trade deal reached between the two countries.

However, the Chinese government said there will be no duty refunds on tariffs already paid by Chinese importers.

 Source: World Maritime News, ONE's Website, Freight Waves