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While the US economy is declared to be healthier and gaining momentum, the mood in the maritime industry is uneasy and shippers are feeling vulnerable, according to a new survey. Undercurrents of pessimism are very much in evidence, despite upbeat indications of the national economy's performance.

Container shipping has gone through the worst market slump in its history of peaks and troughs, but despite the huge downturn in demand and the dilemma of overcapacity, new names are beginning to emerge in the industry, showing there is some faith still that the rebound has already started.

Slow steaming on a particular Asia-Europe trade can save a shipping line in excess of US$10 million in fuel costs but this means berthing windows need to be changed and this is not so easy in Europe, unlike in Asia, reports Correspondent Paul Richardson

With 110 million tonnes of sea-borne cargo handled in 2009, a year impacted by the global economic and financial markets crisis, the port of Hamburg fell short of the previous year's result by around 30 million tonnes, down 21.4 percent.

The government is contemplating a cut in scanning fees at Chittagong Port on requests from importers and exporters, who claimed that the exorbitant charges were hindering their competitiveness in the global market, the Bangladesh Financial Express reported.

US lawmakers are set to embark on a rethink of the controversial 100 percent rule, which requires all US-bound cargo containers loaded onto ships to be scanned for nuclear materials before they leave their port of departure, Europolitics reported.

The spot rate for container shipping on the Asia-Europe route is likely to rise to US$2000 per TEU in two months as carriers plan to take out more capacity following the Chinese New Year due from the middle of this month, the Hindu Business Line reported.

Port Klang Authority (PKA) has said it will not extend a three-month grace period on enforcing changes to rules that require shippers to pay storage charges for full-container load (FCL) cargo at Port Klang after 72 hours, Business Times reported.

ZIM has announced that it will implement a general rate increase in cross-Suez trade effective March 1, 2010.

International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) recently serviced the largest vessel to dock in the Philippines, the APL Bahrain, which called at two of ICTSI's Philippine terminals: the New Container Terminal-1 (NCT-1) in Subic Bay Freeport, and the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), ICTSI's flagship operations, in the Port of Manila.

Import cargo volume at US container ports will be grow by 25 percent during the first half of 2010, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

KAWASAKI Kisen Kaisha ("K" Line) has reached an agreement with US-based Air Tiger Express Companies, Inc (ATEC), to acquire 51 per cent of ATEC's shareholding to boost its logistics business.

TAIWAN's Transasia Airways has suspended a weekly Kaohsiung to Kunming service on Tuesdays, so as to adjust its air capacity following seasonal market change, reports Logistics Week.

DRAGONAIR will increase frequencies on its services to a number of destinations in mainland China and within the region this summer in order to meet seasonal demand effective from March 28 to October 23.

THE Guinea Shipping Corporation (GSC), a joint-venture of Hong Kong's Corporate Capital Consultants and Societe Navale Guineenne (SNG), the state-owned shipping company of Guinea has secured a contract to transport raw materials from the West African nation to customers worldwide.

Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP), a multi-purpose Russian stevedoring and port services company on the Black Sea east of the Crimea ranked its top five container lines in the last quarter with Geneva-based MSC taking top spot.

THE US Port of Long Beach plans to invest up to US$3 billion on improvement projects over the coming decade, in a bid to ward off increasing competition from traditional rivals on the west coast, Canada, Mexico as well as the US east coast.

THE first joint venture railway in China, Jinhua-Wenzhou railway, built by the Ministry of Railways, Zhejiang province, local governments and a Hong Kong investor, will be upgraded to high-speed rail link, Logistics Week reported.

EASTERN China's Ningbo-Zhoushan port recorded world's fastest year-on-year increase of 10 per cent in its throughput tonnage last year to 570 million tonnes, Xinhua reported.

SHENZHEN's Yantian Port Holdings posted a net profit attributed to shareholders of parent company of CNY461 million (US$67.5 million) last year, falling 19.55 per cent compared to the prior year, Xinhua reported.