United States of America (USA) News

Wan Hai Lines is pleased to announce its plan to expand its existing service network between China and Southeast Asia by launching a new weekly service from Central China to Thailand & Vietnam on 15th May 2020. The service, named CTV by WHL and IAL, IA-98 by Sealand Maersk Asia will be operated with 3 vessels with an intake of 1,200 TEU. Comprehensive service coverage Wan Hai Lines will deploy 1 vessel while its partners Interasia Lines and Sealand Maersk Asia will operate the other two v...

Tokyo – Leading Classification Society, ClassNK has granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) to Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., for their concept design of a 180,000 DWT LPG dual fuelled bulk carrier, developed in cooperation with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Approval in Principle (AiP) The AiP was granted to the concept design, based on ClassNK’s Guidelines for Ships Using Low-Flashpoint Fuels and its Rule Part GF (regulation for ships using low-flashpoint fuels), incorporating...

HMM held a naming ceremony for a 24,000 TEU-class containership ‘HMM Algeciras’, the world’s largest containership, at the DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering)’s Okpo shipyard in Geoje, Korea. Distinguished guests attending the ceremony  About 160 distinguished persons attended the ceremony, including Moon Jae-in (President of the Republic of Korea), Hong Nam-ki (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance), Moon Seong-hyeok (Minister o...

In this webinar on ‘Improving inventory availability in a volatile supply chain’ hosted by MIT University and delivered by Dr. Erez Agmoni, Head of Supply Chain Warehousing and Distribution, North America at Maersk, on 7 April 2020, we discussed how Maersk and its customers can ensure their supply chains are kept moving and improving even during volatile times. Webinar Agenda Reasons for supply chain volatility How to prepare for supply chain disruptions Innovational approaches...

The rise in demand for bottled water in domestic and international markets provides a growing avenue for FMCG companies to expand their business. However, in a relatively seasonal market, companies require fast-moving supply solutions capable of meeting different requirements. The customer Maersk’s customer is the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company in the US and is also a part of the world’s leading bottled water company. Its product portfolio comprises various brands f...

PIL announces that its independently run weekly East Africa Service (EAS) will operate with 9 PIL vessels. Commencing from 15th May 2020, this service will introduce a direct call from Dalian to East Africa, with full rotation as follows: Dalian- Qingdao - Shanghai - Ningbo - Nansha - Singapore - Mombasa - Dar-es-Salam - Singapore - Nansha - Dalian PIL's Independent EAS service will replace the current joint service operated with Cosco and our East Africa 2 (EA2) service will cease.

FESCO Transportation Group’s (‘FESCO’) diesel motor vessel - Vasiliy Golovnin successfully finished the Antarctic expedition of 2020. The vessel delivered cargoes for two Indian and one Belgian research stations. The expedition lasted for three and a half months; the vessel returned to the port of Cape Town (South Africa) on 10 April 2020. Vasiliy Golovnin delivers various cargoes The vessel - Vasiliy Golovnin under the command of Captain Iksan Yusupov delivered 1382 to...

After only 9 months post the construction began in June 2019, the chilled capabilities of A.P. Moller - Maersk’s own cold store facility in St. Petersburg, Russia, are operational, addressing the needs of a high-demand Russian market. In the near future, the St. Petersburg cold store facility will also offer freezing capabilities in a separate storage chamber for frozen produce (-25°C). Maersk’s cold store facility in St. Petersburg The first container to arrive at the new war...

These quality steam boilers will be installed in the NB1106 Factory Freezer Trawler and delivered to the Russian owner Okeanrybflot. This will be one of the world’s largest purpose-built factory trawlers.Steam will be delivered by our 2x 4 tons MCS Combined Steam Boilers utilising the exhaust heat, the boilers are equipped with a rotary cup burner designed to use excess fish oil as a substitute to marine diesel if available.  Equipment delivery The system will be delivered...

In the second interview with Lloyd’s List published April 14th, 2020, Wrsit Group CEO Jens Holger Nielsen elaborates on keeping international trade moving to ensure deliveries to workers at sea – Seafarers' suppers fed by triple barrel supply pipeline. Local, regional, and global sourcing is needed to ensure food reaches those working at sea, and who are on the front line of helping to keep supermarket shelves stocked. Food supply challenge  Jens Holger Nielsen is adamant tha...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the globe, SBM Offshore has been adapting to this unprecedented situation, protecting its workforce and putting in place business continuity measures. SBM Offshore’s priority remains the health and safety of its staff, contractors and their families, ensuring safe operations across the Company’s activities at the same time. A dedicated task force continues to monitor the situation at all Company locations across the globe, on a daily basis....

Maersk’s offer of intermodal solutions for the Russian market is expanding, with the new container service launched in April, connecting the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea with the dry port Vorsino near Moscow (Kaluga region). The new service is offered by Maersk jointly with Russian partners Ruscon group and Transcontainer JSC and offers a reliable solution for containers arriving at Novorossiysk on Maersk’s ocean services and destined for customers in Moscow and neighbourin...

Pressure on business performance due to high costs and inflation has been showing on companies in recent years. Profit expectations for firms in the United States have fallen sharply to their lowest levels since late 2016, influenced by lower consumer spending and ongoing global trade difficulties. This has pushed businesses to find new ways to improve bottom-line numbers and better align their supply chains. The customer is a leading retailer in the US, dealing primarily in high-end furnishing...

Brands have been expanding globally in search of new markets in recent years. In doing so, the demand for specialised warehouses and distribution centres has also grown. Companies require warehouses that are not only closer to production sites but also to their customers. This leads to lower costs and improved lead times. With retail companies also focusing on e-commerce to target new customers, warehouses need to transform. They must become more multi-purpose-usage facilities that can handle s...

For multinational companies dealing in baby food products, one market remains the cream of the crop: China. According to research firm Euromonitor, the Chinese baby food market stood at 128 billion yuan (USD 18 billion) in China in 2018. This figure was forecast to increase to 160 billion yuan (USD 23 billion) over the next five years, much of it driven by international brands.   Buoyed by the 2015 withdrawal of the one-child policy in China and the rising spending prowess of its middle-c...

The Board of Golden Ocean Group Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Ulrik Uhrenfeldt Andersen as the new Chief Executive Officer of Golden Ocean Management AS from Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Mr. Andersen comes from a position as Chief Executive Officer of Avance Gas AS and previously worked as Head of Shipping for Petredec, Managing Director for Neu Gas Shipping, and Head of the Maersk VLGC Pool. Management skills and strategic insight We are confident Ulrik will move the Company...

FESCO Transportation Group (‘FESCO’) provided complex agent services for the vessel which was used to transport the platform Odyssey (the launch complex of the Sea Launch floating spaceport) to the port of Slavyanka (the Primorye Territory). FESCO performed operations on the territory of Russia to support and maintain the vessel and prepare all the necessary documents, as well as controlled the unloading of the platform at the destination port.

A.P. Moller - Maersk announces that it has closed its acquisition of Performance Team, a US-based warehousing and Distribution Company, to further strengthen its capabilities as an integrated container logistics company, offering end-to-end supply chain solutions to its customers.  The addition of Performance Team’s engineered solutions and distribution center capabilities to retail, wholesale and direct to consumer services will integrate ideally with Maersk Warehousing & Distri...

ClassNK granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) to SHIN KURUSHIMA DOCKYARD CO., LTD. for their concept design of a 49,000 DWT LNG-fueled chemical tanker. The AiP was granted to the concept design based on its Rule Part GF (regulation for ships using low-flashpoint fuels) incorporating “International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code), IMO Res. MSC.391(95) and MSC.458(101)”. Design features The main features of the design announced by S...

HMM announced that the company has decided to stop using the name ‘Hyundai Merchant Marine’ as its official corporate name and brand, starting on 1 April 2020. The decision was approved at the 44th Annual Shareholders Meeting of the company, which was held at HMM headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, on 27 March. The name ‘Hyundai Merchant Marine’ has been used for 37 years, since the company changed its name from the ‘Asia Merchant Marine’ in 1983. ‘HMM...

ClassNK has established its "Rules for the Survey and Construction of Governmental and Naval Ships", technical rules that are applied to governmental ships and their onboard equipment. Overseas transfer of defense equipment ClassNK has established standards for conducting third-party certification of governmental and naval ships During the overseas transfer of defense equipment including governmental ships and their onboard machinery, the equipment may be subject to third-party quality in...

The International Transport Forum (ITF) has announced the postponement of the ITF 2020 Summit, which was earlier scheduled to take place from May 27 to May 29, 2020. ITF 2020 Summit postponed The world’s renowned transport policy event, ITF 2020 Summit, was slated to take place in Leipzig, Germany The world’s renowned transport policy event, ITF 2020 Summit, was slated to take place in Leipzig, Germany, under the theme of ‘Transport Innovation for Sustainable Development&rsq...

A footwear company that was using a ‘direct-to-customer’ delivery model, changed its model into a combination of ‘direct’ and ‘consolidated’ shipments, making savings over USD 200,000 annually. This case study applies to a specific low volume country and not the entire globe. How Maersk helped Maersk analysed the containers that were being shipped directly into the final delivery distribution centre and discovered an opportunity. It then designed a new solut...

In addition to helping customers do well, Maersk's passion to do good has led it to work closely and successfully with NGOs, donors, suppliers, and aid & relief organisations within the UN. The Challenge Aid and relief organisations face very difficult and often unpredictable challenges, especially in the case of natural disasters. They are increasingly looking for the support of a global network of logistics experts who can understand their challenges and offer a full range of sup...

Maersk's customer is the world’s largest home improvement retailer with over 2200 stores across North America and manufactured in over 25 countries worldwide. They lead the Do It Yourself (DIY) category with in-stock and focus on a postponement allocation strategy via transload usage. This allows them to get “the right product to the right place at the right time.” To build on this proposition further, they need to strengthen their existing transload programme in their two l...

The consumer electronics industry has expanded steadily over the years. Product innovation, falling prices, and increased purchasing power of the consumers have been supporting an average growth rate of 1-1.5 percent since 2013. Even since then, numerous players have entered the market for a share of the pie. Given the growing competition, a customer, a manufacturer of set-top boxes and LCD TVs decided to ramp up their production and sourcing. The challenge The customer’s decision was d...

Maersk's customer is a U.S.-based global manufacturer of office products and marketing office business supplies. They have subsidiaries in more than 20 countries and sales in over 120 countries. Their latest plan was to start selling products directly to consumers by adapting their existing B2B supply chain in China to a B2C model. The challenge The change in their existing model required a much broader shift in mindset as well as capabilities that lacked within their current staff. The ne...

As year-on-year Christmas sales figures indicate, end consumers are rapidly adopting e-commerce. Shopping preferences like this are calling for a change in traditional supply chains. And while retailers are adapting to provide omnichannel experiences, this change is resulting in challenges like an increasingly complex customer base, more sourcing locations, and a highly competitive marketplace pushing to reduce costs and improve service levels. This article tries to demonstrate how ‘last...

A.P. Moller – Maersk’s (Maersk) customer is a leading home improvement retailer in the U.S. The US retailer currently have a staff of more than 340,000 and operate over 2,000 stores in all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, eight Canadian provinces and Mexico. Their goal was to reduce supply chain costs and facilitate growth in their import volumes. The roadblock to this was a high ratio (17.4%) of 20-foot light box utilisation. The current situation led to higher supply chain...

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) established for the first time in Korea’s shipbuilding industry ‘Co-Prosperity Business Office’ under the direct control of its CEO, with an aim to build a new win-win business model with its partner companies.   For this, HHI expanded and reorganized the existing business unit responsible for supporting partner companies, led by a Senior Vice President-level Executive, into Co-Prosperity Business Office with three departments staffed with...