Mixed Bag for Gulf Coast Ports in October
In October, the Port of Houston handled 309,623 TEUs, marking a 15% decrease compared to the same month last year, per a port press release. Both loaded imports and exports experienced declines in October as well. However, the port has processed 3.4 million TEUs year-to-date, reflecting a 7% increase over the previous year.
Meanwhile, at the Port of New Orleans, container volumes dropped by 33,396 TEUs, a 20% year-over-year decrease. On the positive side, per Freightwaves, the port saw growth in breakbulk cargo, recording 190,539 short tons in October, a 2% increase from the previous year. Additionally, steel imports rose during the month.
Gemini Cooperation Updates… MSC Adds More Port Calls
Gemini Cooperation, the new alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, will begin accepting cargo bookings on December 3rd, two months ahead of its official launch on February 1st, Hapag-Lloyd announced on Wednesday. Also, the alliance announced their usage of the London Gateway in their network instead of Felixstowe. They view it as a more “optimal” port when serving their customers. This means Felixstowe will not be part of their network.
As a reminder, this cooperation offers 56 mainline and shuttle services spanning seven east-west trades on a hub-and-spoke network, have roughly 340 vessels with a total capacity of 3.7 million TEUs, the JOC references. They are also opting for the Cape Network instead of the Suez Network, due to ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea.
MSC has expanded its network by adding more port calls. These updates include new load ports on its Asia-Europe and transpacific services, as well as additional destination ports in Europe and North America. The Indian subcontinent transshipment network has also been redesigned to optimize both backhaul and headhaul routes. One of the most significant changes involves MSC’s transpacific Mustang string, which operates as a China-Long Beach express service. However, beginning next year, this service will transition to a more typical transpacific route, replacing Long Beach with calls at Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland.