EXTRA-LOADER vessels being deployed in trades to and from India have rekindled sagging shipper hopes of securing more spot bookings, particularly for shipments to the US East Coast, after facing cargo rollovers and booking cancellations amid resurgent exports, reports IHS Media.
Hapag-Lloyd, for example, has announced three sailings between the Indian Subcontinent and the US East Coast in May and June, supplementing its existing Indamex Service, to feed growing demand in North America.
'Due to the very high demand into the US, we are offering extra loaders connecting India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to the US North East ports [East Coast],' the Hamburg-based container carrier said in a shipper advisory. 'We are sure that these extra-loaders will help [customers] to better connect to the US and put some relief on the continuous extremely high demand.'
A May 5 call from the RDO Fortune at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) marked the launch of the ad-hoc IN2 loop, which has a full port rotation of Port Qasim, JNPT, Mundra, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston, New York, and Port Qasim. One of the two other extra loaders, the Argolikos, called at JNPT on May 17 while the Ikaria is due at the port on June 2.
The additional tonnage provided by these extra loaders has already given the acutely imbalanced India market some respite, according to industry sources.
'While the vessel space scenario from India to [the] US West Coast continues to be challenging, USEC is now a bit easier,' Daniel Krassenstein, global supply chain director of US-based industrial packaging manufacturer Procon Pacific, said. 'That said, vessel space and equipment availability vary from week to week.'
Mr Krassenstein also noted that freight rates - both freight-all-kinds (FAK) and named account contract (NAC) pricing - have become more predictable in recent weeks, but they remain approximately US$1,000 per container higher than at this time last year.
Sunil Vaswani, executive director of the Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA), said carriers are constantly working to scale up loading capacity and inventory flow to meet rising export demand out of India, even as those challenges are rooted in global competitive dynamics rather than being limited to this area.
'The dramatic growth in India's export figures proves this point,' Mr Vaswani said. 'The equipment situation today is certainly better than what it was some months ago.'
In a recent statement, the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) voiced optimism about long-term export target goals after outbound volumes in April, the first month of India's 2021-22 fiscal year, were three times higher than those of April 2020.
'While facing numerous challenges in manufacturing and logistics, the recent export growth has been more than satisfying and shows that the industry is better equipped to handle the second wave with minimum of disruptions,' FIEO said.
Looking to tap into the bullish Indian export outlook, Maersk has also reportedly deployed more feeder sailings in recent weeks from the Middle East to India for empty repositioning and for picking up transshipment cargo on the backhaul.
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Hapag-Lloyd, for example, has announced three sailings between the Indian Subcontinent and the US East Coast in May and June, supplementing its existing Indamex Service, to feed growing demand in North America.
'Due to the very high demand into the US, we are offering extra loaders connecting India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to the US North East ports [East Coast],' the Hamburg-based container carrier said in a shipper advisory. 'We are sure that these extra-loaders will help [customers] to better connect to the US and put some relief on the continuous extremely high demand.'
A May 5 call from the RDO Fortune at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) marked the launch of the ad-hoc IN2 loop, which has a full port rotation of Port Qasim, JNPT, Mundra, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston, New York, and Port Qasim. One of the two other extra loaders, the Argolikos, called at JNPT on May 17 while the Ikaria is due at the port on June 2.
The additional tonnage provided by these extra loaders has already given the acutely imbalanced India market some respite, according to industry sources.
'While the vessel space scenario from India to [the] US West Coast continues to be challenging, USEC is now a bit easier,' Daniel Krassenstein, global supply chain director of US-based industrial packaging manufacturer Procon Pacific, said. 'That said, vessel space and equipment availability vary from week to week.'
Mr Krassenstein also noted that freight rates - both freight-all-kinds (FAK) and named account contract (NAC) pricing - have become more predictable in recent weeks, but they remain approximately US$1,000 per container higher than at this time last year.
Sunil Vaswani, executive director of the Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA), said carriers are constantly working to scale up loading capacity and inventory flow to meet rising export demand out of India, even as those challenges are rooted in global competitive dynamics rather than being limited to this area.
'The dramatic growth in India's export figures proves this point,' Mr Vaswani said. 'The equipment situation today is certainly better than what it was some months ago.'
In a recent statement, the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) voiced optimism about long-term export target goals after outbound volumes in April, the first month of India's 2021-22 fiscal year, were three times higher than those of April 2020.
'While facing numerous challenges in manufacturing and logistics, the recent export growth has been more than satisfying and shows that the industry is better equipped to handle the second wave with minimum of disruptions,' FIEO said.
Looking to tap into the bullish Indian export outlook, Maersk has also reportedly deployed more feeder sailings in recent weeks from the Middle East to India for empty repositioning and for picking up transshipment cargo on the backhaul.
SeaNews Turkey