Following approval from the Moroccan antitrust authorities, Sea & Ports recently completed the full acquisition of NAL Maroc Maritime Agency, in which the Spanish group had already bought a 51% stake in 2022.
The Madrid-based Sea & Ports group has been active with its predecessors in the West African shipping sector since 1992, with connections to Benin, Guinea, Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria and Togo, among others.
Since 2021, the main activity of NAL Maroc, which has its headquarters in Casablanca and offices in Tangiers and Agadir, has been to represent the South Korean shipping company HMM in Morocco.
Source : ITJ
Panama Canal extends transit restrictions until 2 September
The Panama Canal Authority informed shippers on Wednesday 16 August that it was extending until 2 September the restrictions imposed on ships transiting the waterway and that it was maintaining the number of ships authorised to pass through per day at a maximum of 32.
The restrictions imposed on the canal, implemented in recent months because of a late rainy season in Panama this year, could increase pressure on the prices of consumer goods, according to shipping companies and experts, as delays and extra charges add to shipping costs.
The Panama Canal is important for the movement of consumer goods from Asia to the United States, particularly around peak periods such as Christmas. It also allows faster transport of US goods to Asia and the Pacific coast of South America.
Source : Reuters
Air freight: demand in Africa down 2.8% in June 2023
In June, African demand for air freight (measured in tonne-kilometres) fell by 2.8% year-on-year, according to the latest report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In the first 6 months, freight volumes were 4.4% lower than in 2022.
According to IATA, factors such as the fall in manufacturing output for world exports have influenced demand, which has seen a virtually generalised decline worldwide, with a rate of decline of 3.4% in June and 8.1% in the first half compared with 2022 figures.
With the exception of Latin American and Middle Eastern carriers, which recorded the only positive rates in June (7.3% and 0.5% respectively), trends by region were generally negative for the other airlines. In Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe, the volumes of goods transported fell by 3.6%, 6.5% and 2.8% respectively compared with June flows.
Source : ecofin
Maersk cuts costs as container numbers continue to fall
A.P. Moller-Maersk is increasing its focus on cost reduction in a contracting container shipping market, according to the carrier.
The Danish shipping giant has raised its profit outlook while lowering its forecast for freight demand, saying it now expects global container volumes to fall by 1-4% this year and will adapt its operations to the slowdown.
The company is the latest container line to report a sharp fall in net profit in the second quarter, following a fall in freight rates and volumes. But Maersk’s cost-cutting has exceeded expectations and prompted the company to raise the lower end of its guidance range for the full year.
Source : The wall street journal
